11 ACN members matcheted as thugs disrupt Adefarati's lecture

Former Labour Party (LP)
chairman in Ondo State, Chief
Olaiya Oni and another
politician, Chief Wunmi
Adegbomire, now both Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN)
chieftains, were high profile
victims of attack by suspected
political thugs who attempted
to disrupt the 5th Memorial
Lecture for Chief Adabayo
Adefarati, former governor of
Ondo State.
Billed to start at 12 noon, the
BTO Hall venue of the lecture
became a war zone, as the
thugs, with the Police at the
scene doing nothing, attacked
guests and visitors.
As gun shots rent the air,
many guests and politicians
bolted and ran helter-skelter
to escape. Many guests spilled
into the streets, with some
scaling the fence.
Over 11 people were
matcheted, most of who were
believed to be Action Congress
of Nigeria (ACN) members.
The event, planned to honour
the former governor, was also
anticipated to be one of the
biggest political gatherings of
ACN in the build-up to the
October gubernatorial
election, as all ACN governors
were invited, with Governor
Fayemi as guest speaker. But
even the governor’s convoy
had to make a detour when
informed of the volatile
situation.
Matchetes were freely used
by suspected political thugs
who kept screaming they had
instructions to decimate some
top ACN big wigs.
Chief Adegbonmire, billed to be
chairman of the event, was
attacked by matchet-wielding
thugs. Though he escapeed
unharmed, his car was
destroyed.
“Adefarati does not deserve
this. I don’t know why the
government should resort to
violence to settle political
matters. Attacking and
matcheting people, especially
political opponents, is not
acceptable,” Adegbomire
complained. “The police here
are defective and ineffective.
They are not doing their
duty. They acted as though
they were part of a private
army.”
Chief Oni was not that lucky.
The rear windscreen of his
white Toyota Camry 2009
model was smashed, as the
assailants rained stones on
him. He ran into the ambush
as he drove into the venue.
Chief Oni described the
experience as “hell”. Said he:
“Stones, cutlasses and gun
shots! This is thuggery not
democracy. I was meant to be
picked!” he alleged.
The thugs chanted they were
under instruction to attack
visiting and home based ACN
leaders.
Chief Bisi Akande, the ACN
national chairman, barely
escaped with his life. His team
was also attacked.
“It was a very dangerous
development. My effort to
seek a resolution was aborted
because the situation simply
degenerated,” he said of his
ordeal.

Source: Vanguard News