Ijebu Ode Attack: Osun Govt. Flays Sunshine Football Club

By Ayobami Agboola 
The Osun State Government on Wednesday condemned in its entirety the alleged attack on the players, officials and supporters of the Osun United Football Club by the Sunshine Football Club, at  Dipo-Dina Stadium, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun state on Sunday.

Vandalized Osun United FC Vehicles

The Commissioner for Social Protection, Sports and Special Needs, in Osun,  Comrade Biyi Odunlade, while addressing press men on Wednesday said the attack was barbaric.

He accused Sunshine Football Club,  Ondo of being the mastermind behind the attack on the Osun United Football Club, a development which according to him  led to the various injuries  some of the players sustained,  as well as the vandalization of five official vehicles of Osun state government.

Odunlade also accused the Ondo State Commissioner for Youth and Sport, Mr Saka Yusuf Ogunleye‎ of fueling the crisis by alleging Osun United FC’s players of instigating the crisis.
He described as unacceptable  the way and manner at which the players, officials and supporters of the Osun United Football Club were allegedly dehumanized by the players, officials and supporters of Sunshine FC, saying the state would employ every constitutional means to demand for justice.

‎”This press briefings aimed to intimate the media on the unprovoked, senseless and barbaric attack on the innocent players, official and supporters of the Osun United Football Club by the uncultured and violent Sunshine FC, Akure and the thugs they mobilized to the Dipo-Dina Stadium, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State on Saturday, September 23,  2017.

“This conference might not have been necessary but for the deceit, mischief and ungodliness of the Ondo state Commissioner for Youth and Sport, Mr Saka Yusuf Ogunleye who had alleged at a press conference that supporters of the Osun United FC attacked the Shunshine players and injured some of them in the process.

“We considered this allegation as a blatant lie, vituperation, from the pit of hell and desperate attempt to lure the unsuspecting members of the public into misconstruing the true report on the brutalization of our players, officials, supporters and fans.

“The fact remains that hooliganism and violence are synonymous with the Sunshine Stars of Akure as it has caused untold hardships and pains on many Nigerian clubs in the past and get banished from its Akure home ground”, he said.

Odunlade,  while  lamenting on the degrees of injuries sustained by the affected players in the course of the fracas, said, “during the attack, the second goalkeeper of Osun United and the captain of the team, Akeem Olalere were seriously injured by the attackers.

“Five of the buses that conveyed Osun United FC and supporters to the stadium were vandalized by the supporters of the Sunshine FC in connivance  with those of Gateway United and Remo Stars.

“The suporters of Sunshine Stars, Gateway United and Remo Stars were so unruly that it took the combined efforts of soldiers and the police to quell the uproar and came to our rescue before normalcy returned.

“Though the case was reported at Igbeba PoliceDivision at Ijebu-Ode while the six of the Sunshine‎ FC supporters and three supporters of the Osun United FC were arrested by the police.

“Also, hoodlums from Ijebu-Ode who were caught in the act of vandalisation were also arrested, with particularly reference to a non-Yoruba speaking female staff member/athlete of Ogun State Sport Council”, he stressed.

Odunlade assured that the state has the evidence to prove her innocent in the attack, noting that “for the avoidance of doubt, we have both video and photo evidence to buttress our claims and we challenge Ondo State Commissioner for Sport to produce the pictures of any of its vehicle vandalized”.