A man suspected to a political thug has attacked police orderly attached to the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives aspirant, Mr. Victor Olumuyiwa Kolade fondly called VOK, at Okemesi-Ekiti in Ekiti State.
It was learnt that the yet-to-be-identified suspect stabbed the orderly during a campaign in the community.
The suspect is said to be one of the supporters of a House of Assembly aspirant in the town.
The incident occurred on Monday at Okerena Street at Okemesi during the ward meeting of Okemesi Ward 09 when Kolade visited members with campaign train.
One of the three House of Assembly aspirants, Mr Johnson Oyekola Bode-Adeoye, popularly known as JOBA, who comes from the ward, was also present to conclude his tour of the constituency.
Kolade, an Efon-Alaaye-born lawyer, had already visited APC members in Ward 08, Okemesi-Ekiti where the leaders and members received him without any rancour.
Ward 09 is the ward of another House of Assembly aspirant, Akogun Tai Oguntayo, who was also present at the meeting to receive JOBA and VOK who both spoke to the people one after the other.
The two visitors arrived Oguntayo’s ward almost at the same time but the ward Chairman, Mr. Taiwo Martin's Ibidapo, asked Kolade to exercise patience for Bode-Adeoye to finish his campaign. Kolade sat in his vehicle with his wife for more than 30 minutes.
When Bode-Adeoye left Ward A, he moved to Ward Count with his supporters, while Kolade went to Ward B with his campaign train. While still at Ward B, Bode-Adeoye came with his supporters, the majority of who stayed outside the meeting place because the venue was not spacious.
At this juncture Kolade had ended his speech in order to move to Ward C when some boys accosted him and demanded money.
“When those boys came and said I couldn’t just come to campaign there without their authority, I considered it a joke and told them to allow me get to the car to give them something.”
But before I knew what was happening, they were already having a scuffle with my orderly. They seized the magazine of his rifle, stabbed him with knife in the buttock and beat him with logs of wood and other dangerous weapons.
“However, I ensured he did not retaliate. But we had to move immediately to the palace of Owa Ooye who stepped in and ensured that my orderly’s seized items were returned,” Kolade said.
While the scuffle lasted outside the meeting place, Bode-Adeoye was inside, addressing party members.
However, his campaign Coordinator, Mr. Gbenga Oyewole aka Mexico, who was outside with the boys, was said to have tried his best to prevent the situation from degenerating.
At the palace, Oba Michael Adedeji Gbadebo condemned attacks on another aspirant within the same party.
The President of the Federation of Okemesi Improvement Union, Alhaji Bayo Ajijola, was also present at the palace.
Kolade said: “Kabiyesi has stepped into the matter and I do not intend to go beyond that level. Thank God the matter did not escalate beyond that. Most important thing is that the policeman is responding to treatment though only one of his two phones seized was released to us.”
Meanwhile, the two aspirants for the House of Assembly in Okemesi-Ekiti, Oguntayo and Mr. Yinka Ajala, refused to comment on the issue.
