Osun State Police Command has arrested two suspects hoodlums while trying to snatch ballot boxes at a polling unit in Iragbiji, the home town of the immediate past Governor of the state, Gboyega Oyetola.

It was reported that the hoodlums, who were large in number, attacked the country home of the former governor where several polling units were raided as already thump-printed ballot boxes were carted away by the miscreants.

It was gathered further that the political hoodlums armed with guns, cutlasses, axes and other dangerous weapons ransacked the strongholds of the opposition party – the All Progressives Congress (APC) across the State.

Eyewitnesses explained that the hoodlums who got to the Idi-Ogungun polling unit around 3:04 pm when the sorting and counting of votes were ongoing, were seen shooting sporadically into the air to scare the electorate as officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) narrowly escaped death.

Another eyewitness account revealed that the attackers who arrived at the affected polling units in full force sent the entire community into panic as the atmosphere was rented with gunshots before they eventually took away the ballot boxes.

One of the eye-witnesses who identified himself as simply Rashidi said the majority of the attackers took motorcycles to the polling units while others were in a no-plate-number Sienna bus.

“It is unfortunate that these people were hell-bent to ruin the state with several attacks being launched on the people of the state in the last few months.

“It was God that saved me. I was very close to the attacked polling units. I saw the whole thing. They came in large numbers and started shooting sporadically into the air to scare people as everyone scampered for safety.

“They snatched and took away the ballot boxes in the affected polling units. Though they started the operation at Idi Ogungun, an outskirt of Iragbiji, Boripe Local Government Area and later moved to Eleesun and Odebudo, two of the popular communities in the Council.

“When they successfully ransacked the first polling unit, they swiftly moved to the next polling unit which is close by distance from where other ballot boxes were carted away.

“I was told that a team of police came to repel the attacks and eventually got two of the hoodlums apprehended,” he added.

It was reported that the suspects were taken to the Iragbiji Police Headquarters for interrogation.

Also, the lawmaker representing the Ijesa South federal constituency in the green chambers of the National Assembly, Hon. Lawrence Babatunde Ayeni said hoodlums suspected to be working for the ruling PDP chased away the electorate in the APC stronghold in Ijesaland.

Condemning the pocked of violence in the Ijesa South Federal Constituency, Ayeni who is also a House of Representatives Candidate alleged that PDP thugs did not allow voters to exercise their civic rights in the area.

“For almost three months now, Atakumosa East is not peaceful. The report I got from five awards in Ijesa South Federal Constituency is not palatable at all. PDP thugs chased all electorates away with guns , cutlasses and some other dangerous weapons.

"We called security agents but, there were not forthcoming. As I’m talking to you nobody is allowed to vote. They just wanted to frustrate voters but by the grace of God, I’m willing to the election. Security is nothing.

“The PDP will attack you and be the one to raise alarm. They attacked some of our leaders and the police arrested four of them," he added. (New Telegraph)

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