The Ogun State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has engulfed in another crisis which may plunge the party into fresh internal war as some suspected thugs reportedly attacked the convoy of Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu, a member of House of Representatives and Gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of the party.
The incident happened in Ota on Wednesday night when Adebutu, representing Remo Federal Constituency, paid a solidarity visit to some party members.
The party members were said to have been arrested and charged to court on Tuesday based on complaint by a governorship aspirant also on the platform of PDP, Prince Segun Seriki.
It was gathered that Adebutu had barely left the scene when gunshots were fired, sending people present to scamper for safety.
At the end of the melee, a party stalwart simply identified as Mojeed was killed while the matter was immediately reported at the Ota divisional police headquarters.
Adebutu’s supporters blamed the violence on Seriki, who swiftly denied the allegation.
Our correspondent reliably gathered that the crisis was the fallout of Seriki’s gubernatorial declaration for 2019 elections in Ota on Tuesday, last week.
Some of the PDP members, who were reportedly supporters of another governorship aspirant, were said to have opposed the declaration, thus resulting in commotion and violent attacks.
It was learnt that 16 people were initially arrested by the police in connection with the fracas but six of them were eventually charged to court after 10 were found not to be directly linked to the incident.
Sources within the party told our correspondent that Adebutu came to the rescue of those arrested by providing them with free legal services to secure their bail.
Reacting, Seriki, who was the Ogun State campaign coordinator of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, said in a telephone interview that he had no connection with the unfortunate incident.
According to him, “I wasn’t in Ota anyway but I can understand their desperation to cover up the killing of somebody. People came to attack me last week. I’m a law-abiding Nigerian, I have reported to the law enforcement agency, they have arrested those people that attacked me and charged them to court.
“I had no contact with unruly people. My position is to enhance the enforcement of law and order. Some people believe in circumventing law for whatever political game anticipated, it is their luck. If in the process it backfired and they fought and killed somebody, it is their luck.
“There was no way I could come into the picture. I don’t resort to self-help and I don’t deal with thugs.”
When contacted for confirmation on phone, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said he would get back to our correspondent.