Ogun PDP Chief Reports Abiodun To IG Over Alleged Recruitment Of Thugs To Harass Opposition

Governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2023 election in Ogun State, Segun Showunmi asked the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun to investigate Governor Dapo Abiodun over allegations of recruiting thugs to intimidate and harass members of the opposition in the state.

Showunmi in a letter addressed to the Ag. IG accused Abiodun of introducing a ‘killer squad’ to unleash terror on perceived opponents in the state.

According to the PDP chieftain, “Ogun has been peaceful until Dapo Abiodun introduced his killer squads,” asking the police chief to wade into the matter.

The PDP Chief in the letter titled “IGP Egbetokun: Attn; Dapo Abiodun’s Killer Squad,” narrated how those he called agents of Abiodun “within the precinct of the state high court in Isabo, in full view of the police,” attacked him and other PDP members during the inaugural sitting of the Governorship Election Tribunal.

He said “IGP sir, as I wrote to the National Security Adviser on the security implications of thugs running around a state governor, I am compelled to remind you that it was politicians recruiting such non-state actors in the northeast that metamorphosed into the madness that cost us human and material resources, which we are just about managing when a governor allows this, shall we in opposition raise our such soldiers of fortunes?

“Do we not have enough challenges that a so-called chief security officer in the person of Gov Dapo Abiodun will now be allowed to set the state on fire, or does the office you now have authority over not see that there is a need to look into an attack on my person, the type that could have cost me my life, I have never subscribed to the idea that non commissioned layabout civilians should be encouraged to misbehave right in front of what should normally be a good number of police officers, while the police standby, made worse is the fact that the state police public relations officer converted herself into a lying liar attempting to deny what is wildly in media space.”

He assured the police of his willingness “to furnish you the names and telephone numbers of his killer squads that you might demand from them, an undertaking that this rubbish will not be tolerated under your watch.”

But, the All Progressives Congress (APC) described the allegations as baseless, saying Showunmi was hellbent on causing “unnecessary tension in the State by raising false alarm.”

Reacting in a statement by the Assistant State Publicity Secretary, Olusola Ogunsanya Blessed, described Showunmi as a “notorious political jobber and professional liar in the State.”

The party said “Every discerning member of the public is aware and will recollect the incident of Monday, 5th June, 2023, outside the gate of the Magistrate’s Court at Isabo, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, where the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal is sitting. On that day, Segun Showunmi, in his accustomed hauteur, was trying to gain forceful entry into the premises of the court after proceedings had already commenced and the gate shut for security reasons following the directive of members of the Tribunal.

“It was this arrogant and uncultured attitude exhibited by Showunmi that infuriated supporters of different political parties who had also come late to the venue and were denied entry. In fact, eyewitnesses confirmed that members of PDP were those that championed the violent reaction against Showunmi’s utter lack of decorum.”

The party, however, demanded that Police should invite Showunmi for questioning for “causing unnecessary tension in the state.”