The Rasaq Salinsile faction of Osun State’s governing All Progressives Congress (APC) has denounced the state government’s previous claim that certain misguided cowards had visited Osogbo with armed thugs with the goal to stir disturbance.
According to a statement signed by Abiodun Agboola, the faction’s Publicity Secretary, the goal of the shootout in Osogbo was to assassinate Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola by targeting his convoy at Orisunmibare Market on Monday evening.
The statement revealed that for about twenty minutes, the Old Garage part of Osogbo was thrown into panic as traders and road users ran helter-skelter as a result of gunshots from the security operatives and political thugs.
The faction noted that when the convoy was attacked, a team of combined security operatives from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Immigration Service and Department of State Services, who were among Aregbesola’s convoy, stepped down from the vehicles and started shooting in a bid to scare away the armed thugs.
It maintained that in a bid for the government of Adegboyega Oyetola to tarnish the good name of the minister, it quickly put up a report, deceiving many that the minister invaded Osogbo.
It called on the government to produce evidence of dead bodies which it claimed to have died as a result of the shooting, stating that no person was wounded in any of the minister’s outings.
While qualifying the action of the Osun State Government as irresponsible and a ploy to scare away people, it noted that Osun which was adjudged the third most safest State in Nigeria before Oyetola became Governor, is now one where political violence and insecurity thrived.
WITHIN NIGERIA had earlier reported that the State government had announced that it has credible reports that some misguided cowards have invaded Osogbo, the State capital with armed thugs to foment trouble.