Loyalists of the former Governor of Ekiti State, Engr Segun Oni, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Mr Usman Alkali Baba, over threat to their lives in the hands of powerful politicians regarding their stands on the forthcoming governorship poll in the state.
The Oni’s cronies pointedly accused the supporters of the former Governor Ayodele Fayose as the arrowheads of the litany of threats on their lives, thereby requesting for security beef up around them to avert unnecessary attacks.
Those directly affected are the former Commissioner for Works, Kayode Oso, Mr Biodun Alasoluyi, Rotimi Omoboriowo, a former member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon. Wale Ayeni, Mr. Akin Falana and Peter Ajayi.
The letter dated February 7,2022 and Signed by Biodun Alasoluyi on behalf of the complainants, was entitled: “THREAT TO MY LIFE BY FORMER GOVERNOR AYODELE FAYOSE: SAVE MY SOUL APPEAL TO THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE”.
The letter was a follow up to the one earlier written by the Director General, Segun Oni Campaign Organisation, Hon. Yemi Arokodare, inundating the IGP of alleged attempt to attack his principal, Engr. Oni and members of his political team.
Alasoluyi explained that he had a narrow escape almost four times in the hands of suspected party thugs due to his intention to dump the People’s Democratic Party to work for Engr Oni wherever he defects to ahead of the June 18 poll.
He said: “A shocking and heart-wrenching incident I witnessed was on my way home from work on Thursday, January 19, 2022. I discovered at Bank Road in Ado-Ekiti that a grey colour Toyota saloon had been trailing me up to NTA/Secretariat road.
“When I discovered that the driver of the car was driving suspiciously wanted to overtake my car in a very rough and wrong way, I increased my speed until I could leave the lonely road for the Federal Polytechnic Satelite campus. By the time I got to a crowded area, the car had fizzled out. I managed to drive to my estate that evening full of fear.”
He said another incident that triggered this petition and made him concluded that some people were poised to kill him happened on Saturday, January 29, 2022, around 7.30 pm while he was coming from a function.
“A white Hilux van overtook me very close to my estate gate roughly; they nearly pushed my car into the drainage. The Hilux van parked and blocked me. A man wearing a black Tshirt on black trousers with a black nose mask to match hanging by the door with one leg in the van and the other leg outside told me that he pitied my wife and my children; otherwise, he would have wasted me and that do I think I have got so much money for me to be sponsoring groups against Leader.
“He said if I fail to retrace my steps, next time, I will not escape his bullet. All this did not last more than 5 minutes, and immediately they drove off towards Ilawe road. It was a clean shave with death by me. I was shocked and frozen but managed to drive home. I immediately called my lawyer to cause a letter to the appropriate security agencies urgently.
“I decided to write this Save My Soul letter to alert the Inspector General of Police that my life is in danger and unknown assailants are after me.
These attempts, I believe, have a political undertone, and I strongly suspect Mr Ayo Fayose. The murder of Mr Omolafe Aderiye, an NURTW chairman, in September 2014, is still fresh in my memory.
“My wife and family members are now panicking because of this threat to my life and family. It is not a crime under our law to elect to support a candidate of my own choice.
Alasoluyi , from Oke- Oro ward in Ijero Local Government added that he was core loyalist of Fayose in the past before he switched camp to work for Oni, saying this was responsible on the unwarranted attack on him.
“Until February 2021, when I was elected to support the aspiration of former Governor Oni, I had been a strong ally of Mr Ayodele Fayose. In the build-up to January 15, 2022, PDP ad-hoc delegate ward congress, I was privy to information that plans had been hatched to eliminate Mr Kayode Oso, myself and some other persons who left Mr Fayose’s camp.
“On Saturday, January 11, 2022, I got a distress call from one of my workers that went to the farm to harvest plantain that my oil palm plantation farm at Oke Ero, off Ipere road in Ido/Osi Local Government in Ekiti State, has been razed by fire. I later went to the farm to confirm the information, and indeed, half of my oil palm farm had been burnt down,” he added.