PDP ward congress: Two killed, several injured as PDP factional camp supporters clash in Osun

Ward congress of the Osun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was on Wednesday characterised with violence ranging from killing, maiming and harassment of participants in the exercise that cut across all the 332 wards in the state.

The exercise turned bloody in ward 14, of Iwo Local Government Area of Osun State leaving one person dead and several others severely injured while in Ipetu-Ijesha of Oriade local government area of the state, it was learnt that another person was killed but the state police command and the state NSCDC only confirmed the person killed in Iwo saying, they are yet to be briefed about that of Ipetu-Ijesha.

The corpse of the deceased in Iwo is said to have been deposited to a nearby hospital in the town by the state police command and NSCDC officials who swung into action to address the ugly situation while those injured were reportedly being attended to medically.

Eyewitness account revealed that trouble started in the afternoon of the day when a faction of Sunday Bisi led caucus of the party clashed with that of the faction led by Barrister Wale Ojo over a minor disagreement said to have ensued between them at the ward.

The supporters of Bisi led faction which Ademola Adeleke belongs to and that of the Ojo which Akin Ogunbiyi belongs to said to have engaged themselves in a fierce battle over the matter that disturbed the whole process in the ward.

Informed sources stated that decorum was said to have been thrown into the dustbin by the angry violent armed supporters who were armed with dangerous weapons like guns, cutlasses, broken bottles, daggers, charms and many others to kill and inflict injuries on themselves.

He said the venue of the exercise turned to a theatre of war as many of the two supporters were drenched with blood after being macheted and stabbed beyond recognition.

The eyewitness who gave his name as Adeyeye added that, in the process, one of the supporters whose camp is yet to be ascertained as at the time of filing in this report was brutally killed and left in his own cold blood.

The development, he claimed aggravated more tension at the scene as a camp that lost a soul in their retaliatory move also went berserk with their weapons to terminate more lives from the opposing camp before the intervention of the security operatives who restored normalcy into the blood-sucking ward.

Apart from this, some supporters were also said to have used charms and other evil magical powers to harm themselves while innocent participants at the event ran for safety to avoid being killed in the crisis.

Investigations into Oba- oke in the Olorunda local government area of the state also revealed that there was also an orgy of crisis in the town leading to injuries of many party members before the intervention of the security operatives.

At Ipetu- Ijesha of Oriade local government area of the state, there are also reports of the fracas that snowballed into violence where many party members were brutalized.

Informed sources also affirmed that one person was killed in the process.

In his reaction to the development, the State Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Osun State Command Commandant Emmanuel Ocheja states that the Command in synergy with other sister agencies are on top of the situation and normalcy has already been restored.

He implored citizens to go about their lawful businesses and report any suspicious movements to the authorities and charged politicians to always try to embrace peace among themselves instead of violence.

The commandant expressed sadness on the development he described as uncalled for and also assured residents of adequate security of life and property.

Commandant Ocheja who spoke through the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Corps (ASC II) Atanda Olabisi, mentioned that”It is unfortunate that the crisis that broke out amongst factional members of a political party at ward 14, Oke Oba 1 Agberire, Iwo, led to the death of one person.

Also reacting to the incident, the state police command through its public relations officer, Mrs Yemisi Opalola confirmed that one person was killed in Iwo and several injured.

She however maintained that the police are on top of the situation.

Meanwhile, protesters stormed the venue of the party congress held at WOCDIF centre, Osogbo to express their displeasure on the development going on within the circle of the party.

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