A pre-congress stakeholders’ meeting of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State descended into pandemonium on Tuesday when suspected thugs stormed the party secretariat in Akure, beating the state chairman and leaving several party leaders injured.
The violence occurred less than 24 hours before the ward congress scheduled to hold across the state’s 203 wards on Wednesday.
The assailants, armed with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons, invaded the secretariat mid-meeting and targeted party leaders in what eyewitnesses described as a coordinated attack.
Among those beaten were the state APC chairman, Mr. Ade Adetimehin; a commissioner on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Mr. Otito Atikase; and former Commissioner for Sports, Mr. Saka Yusuf-Ogunleye as those injured were promptly rushed to hospitals for treatment.
An eyewitness, Yetunde Adeyanju, said that the attackers stormed the venue shouting that they were acting on behalf of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and were opposed to the congress holding in the state.
“We don’t want congress in Ondo State. The governor is in charge. Nobody can query the authority of the governor, and anybody who wants to talk about congress in Ondo State will be assassinated,” Adeyanju quoted the attackers as saying.
Adetimehin confirmed that he was among those assaulted, alleging that the thugs were sponsored to disrupt the meeting.
“Thirty minutes later, the place was invaded by thugs with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons. They beat all leaders and members, except those who are for them.
“They beat me and dragged me on the floor; they took away my two phones, money, and wristwatch,” the chairman said.
The state government, however, swiftly distanced itself from the violence.
The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Idowu Ajanaku, described the allegation linking the governor to the attack as “unfounded, false and misleading.”
He insisted that Governor Aiyedatiwa was neither aware of nor connected to the meeting and could not have sanctioned any act of thuggery.
“His leadership reflects a strong aversion to violence and political intimidation in any form,” Ajanaku said.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Abayomi Jimoh, confirmed that operatives responded swiftly to a distress call and restored order at the secretariat.
“The police command received a distress call, and we immediately swung into action, deploying operatives to the APC state secretariat. Efforts of these operatives restored calmness to the area,” he said.
Jimoh added that tactical teams had been deployed and investigations were ongoing.
The incident raised fresh concerns about the conduct of Wednesday’s congress and the state of internal democracy within the ruling party in Ondo State.