The Senator representing the Ondo-South Senatorial District, Yele Omogunwa, was on Thursday allegedly assaulted by some residents of Okitipupa, the headquarters of Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State during a visit by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to the palace of the monarch of Idepe town, Oba Michael Adetoye.

Similarly, a member of the House of Representatives, representing the Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency, Mr Bamidele Baderinwa, was allegedly beaten by some youths in Idanre on Wednesday during Osinbajo’s visit to the traditional ruler of Idanre town.

It took the intervention of the security details of the Vice-President, who whisked the lawmaker away from the scene, to save the situation.

Omogunwa, who is the senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the forthcoming general elections, was said to be in the vice-president’s entourage when the incident happened.

It was gathered that angry youths carried out the attack.

One of the youths, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “He (senator) was beaten because he neglected us in the senatorial district; he carried out no constituency projects for the over three years we have elected him.

“He does not have any constituency office in this town; he was not accessible, we couldn’t reach him for over three years; so what does he want here? Election is coming now, so he wants to cajole us again, that will not be possible.”

When contacted, House of Reps member, Mr Bamidele Baderinwa, who confirmed the incident said the development was worrisome as the nation was preparing for the 2019 general election. He called on the police to investigate the matter and bring the suspected political thugs to book.

He said, “I call on the Inspector General of Police to arrest the perpetrators and brought them to book to serve as deterrent to others.”

Similarly, when contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the state police command, Mr Femi Joseph said the matter was not reported at any police station.

In his reaction, the media aide to the senator, Mr Jide Omogunwa, however said, the senator was not assaulted but was in the midst of some youths who were rowdy and pushing themselves over the money he wanted to give them.

He said, “What happened was just a normal thing in politics; at the event the youths came to ask for money. As he was trying to get them money, they thought he was trying to escape; some of the youths were protecting him while some were pushing themselves. It doesn’t have any political undertone; it is a normal thing that can happen to politicians.

•Excerpted from a Punch report

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