The Ogun State Government has accused the 2023 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Oladipupo Adebutu, of allegedly orchestrating violence during the Saturday local government election, including an alleged shooting incident involving the newly elected Vice Chairman of Ikenne Local Government, Mohammed Efuwape.

Lekan Adeniran, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Dapo Abiodun, in a statement on Sunday, alleged that Adebutu mobilised over 40 policemen from the Lagos State MOPOL 49 unit and armed thugs to disrupt the election.

According to Adeniran, the policemen, acting on Adebutu?s orders, opened fire at Efuwape and another voter identified as Biola at a polling unit in Iperu.

While Efuwape escaped unharmed, Biola sustained a gunshot wound on the leg and is currently receiving treatment at a hospital.

The statement read, ?Adebutu illegally brought in over 40 policemen from MOPOL 49 in Lagos, accompanied by PDP thugs on motorcycles, who went around snatching ballot boxes and brandishing weapons in Ikenne Local Government in a desperate bid to sabotage the election process.?

Adeniran added that the gunfire enraged voters, leading to the disarming and arrest of one of the policemen, who was confirmed to be from MOPOL 49.

The remaining officers reportedly fled to Adebutu?s residence, where they allegedly engaged law enforcement agents, including DSS operatives, in a shootout that damaged several DSS vehicles.

The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, was said to have directed the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, to deploy personnel from MOPOL 16 and MOPOL 71 to apprehend the officers.

In a swift reaction, Adebutu?s media aide, Afolabi Orekoya, dismissed the allegations as ?lies from the pit of hell,? accusing the state government of using intimidation and violence to suppress voters in Ogun East during the election.

Orekoya alleged that Adebutu?s son was attacked by armed thugs near his house in Iperu and that a police officer attached to Adebutu was shot in the process.

He stated, ?The shooting occurred close to Hon. Adebutu?s residence and not at any polling unit as claimed by the government. The injured policeman was quickly rushed to the hospital for treatment.?

Orekoya further accused Abiodun?s security operatives and hired thugs of storming Adebutu?s residence.

He said, ?Over 100 armed policemen and armoured tanks besieged Adebutu?s house for about an hour, claiming they had orders to arrest him, yet they failed to produce any warrant.?

The PDP chief also alleged that the election was marred by violence and voter suppression, particularly in Ogun East.

Orekoya claimed that ballot boxes were not delivered to many polling units, and PDP agents were attacked with machetes, with some sustaining gunshot wounds.

?The APC, knowing its lack of popularity in Ogun East, resorted to deploying thugs to intimidate voters and suppress turnout,? Orekoya alleged.

He urged security agencies to remain impartial and resist being used as tools of oppression, vowing that the PDP would resist intimidation within the ambit of the law.

Efforts to reach the Ogun State Police Command for comments on the incident were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report. (The PUNCH)

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