About 25 thugs wielding guns, axes, and batons came via minibuses to a newsstand at Makson Junction near the old Governor’s office in Osogbo and assaulted bystanders, leaving several injured.
Just days after thugs presumed to be aligned with the All Progressive Congress (APC) disrupted workers demonstrated in demand of their long overdue arrears, other residents of Osogbo, the Osun State capital, were attacked on Thursday for protesting against the current Governor of Osun, APC’s Rauf Aregbesola.
About 25 thugs wielding guns, axes, and batons came via minibuses to a newsstand at Makson Junction near the old Governor’s office in Osogbo and assaulted bystanders, leaving several injured.
It is likely that these individuals were attacked because they pose a political concern for Governor Aregbesola in the midst of a legal battle with Justice Folahanmi Oloyede, who has called for an investigation of the governor for mismanagement of public funds.
APC Director of Publicity and Strategy Kunle Oyatomi and Governor Aregbesola's Director of Media and Publicity Semiu Okanlawon have both refused to comment on Thursday's attacks.
One of the victims of the attack, a vendor by the name of Kazeem Madamidola, said that during the attack the thugs accused the people gathered at the newsstand of being anti-Aregbesola.
"The thugs pulled down my news-stand, tore all the newspapers and started beating people up,” Mr. Madamidola said. “They accused them of booing Aregbesola during the rally on Tuesday and threatened that by today, they will kill anyone who comes around here."
The Civil Societies Coalition for Emancipation of Osun State (CECEO) has been urging President Buhari to discipline the governor for his use of violence in Osun State. Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman, the Chairman of CECEO, condemned the attack in strong terms and said, "The whole world is aware of Aregbesola's unpopularity in the State. His plan is to keep people's mouths shut so as to put is in perpetual bondage."