Two people were injured yesterday during an attack on the campaign trail of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, in Ilorin, Kwara State.
Sources confirmed the development to have occurred near Isale-Aluko area of the metropolis where Osinbajo had gone on his door-to-door campaign in the state capital.
Expectedly, the two major political parties in the state – APC and PDP – blamed each other for the attack, which came barely 24 hours after a clash between the two parties at Ojoku in Oyun Local Government Area. In the Ojoku attack, two people were killed while several others were injured.
While the APC claimed the attack on Osinbajo was masterminded by PDP elements, the latter insisted that the attack stemmed from disagreement on how to share money allegedly given to political thugs working for the APC.
A statement issued last night by Rafiu Ajakaiye, the media aide to Abdulrazaq Abdulrahaman, the APC governorship candidate in the state, claimed that “the Vice President was at Isale-Aluko suburb of Ilorin on a door-to-door campaign when some daredevil gunmen opened fire at his convoy which included thousands of APC members and supporters.”
Ajakaye called for immediate arrest and prosecution of those behind the incident as well as investigations to reveal those who gave the orders for the attack. The media aide said two members of the APC sustained “life-threatening injuries,” while many others got seriously injured while running into safety. He added: “We call for all measures to be taken to ensure safety of lives and properties and sanctity of the ballot box in Kwara and beyond.”
But in a statement, the state PDP Publicity Secretary, Tunde Ashaolu, denied involvement of the party in the attack, saying Osinbajo had even visited the Agbajit family home of Senate President Bukola Saraki without any untoward incident.
He said: “Osinbajo was in Ilorin for the door-to-door campaign rally of his party, the APC and other activities of the party, when his convoy was attacked. “The incident was an intra-party affair involving members of the APC, arising from the endless crisis confronting the party.”
Ashaolu added that crisis broke out when Osinbajo got to Alanamu Ward of Isale-Aluko, which is the base of two former governorship aspirants of the APC, Lukman Mustapha and Moshood Mustapha, who had been engulfed in superiority war.
He said: “It was also gathered that the money released to be shared among party supporters triggered the violence. “Once again, we emphasise that the PDP has no hand in the fracas and we reject any attempt by the APC to link our party to the crisis.”