The chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council, Osun State, Simon Adebayo has expressed worries over spate of violence against supporters of political parties in Osun ahead of 2023 General Elections.
Adebayo who is also the Osun Central Senatorial candidate of Allied Peoples Movement (APM) challenged the police authority in the state to tame political thugs that are unleashing terror on members of political parties and residents.
A statement signed by Adebayo on Wednesday made available to newsmen condemned the attacks and warned politicians against using non-state actors to harass residents with impunity.
According to him, “It is becoming so worrisome that attacks on political supporters and residents is growing in the last one month. We can not act as if we are not aware of the actions of criminals who are hired by desperate politicians interested in do or die politics.
“Most of these thugs are going about with weapons to harass the opponents of their pay master. Two weeks ago Labour Party members were stabbed with knives and cutlasses for pasting posters of their House of Assembly candidate. Similarly, workers of People Democratic Party ( PDP) chieftain were attacked by hoodlums who injured them and destroyed property in Osogbo. Equally supporters of Presidential candidate of All Progressive Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu were injured by some thugs in Osogbo after striping them naked because they adorned the fez-cap of their party.
He added that “It is growing worse in Ijesa land were leaders of political parties have become soft targets. I am afraid that these attacks may cause voters’ aparthy in Osun during 2023 election if not checked by the police.
“We heard it from a good authority that the police has released one of the political thugs leaders arrested few weeks ago whose video went viral confessing his atrocities in the said video. The police must wake up to their responsibilities of protecting lives and properties, maintaining laws and order by taming these political thugs who are now even posting there pictures with weapons on social media to threaten the innocent citizen of the state . We must not allow Osun to be turned into arena of lawlessness before, during and after 2023 general election.”
