Osun Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has broken his silence on Saturday’s attack on his convoy by armed thugs. Governor Oyetola had narrowly escaped on Saturday when he was attacked by armed thugs while addressing the #EndSARS protesters in Osogbo.
Lagos Panorama had reported Oyetola, his deputy Benedict Alabi and other State executives narrowly escaped death on Saturday when thugs attacked them after addressing #ENDSARS protesters in Osogbo, capital of Osun.
Speaking in a state wide broadcast on Sunday morning, the Governor described the incident as unfortunate and against the Omoluabi ethos.
He said he joined the #EndSARS protesters by marching from Alekuwodo area to meet the protesters at Ola-Iya junction where he addressed them.
He said he joined the #EndSARS protesters by marching from Alekuwodo area to meet the protesters at Ola-Iya junction where he addressed them.
“However, the protest was hijacked by thugs who wanted to kill me. We escaped from the scene without shoot or firing teargas to them.
“But after the incident, we gathered that two people died. One of them died as a result of a bike accident.”
He said the attack was politically motivated and targeted at killing him and other executive members of the state.
Armed with cutlasses and sticks the hoodlums swooped in on the governor at Olaiya junction, while he was addressing the #EndSARS protesters in the state capital.
The governor was immediately ferried away from the scene by his security details but vehicles in his convoy were damaged as the hoodlums threw stones at the governor’s convoy.
Speaking on the incident, the Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs Funke Egbemode, who was also at the scene of the incident, said the attack was beyond the #EndSARS protest, but a premeditated attempt to take the governor out.
The Commissioner said: “It was an assassination attempt. This was certainly beyond the #EndSARS protest. The people who launched the attack were not protesters at all.
“Protests have been going on in the state for some days now, and there had been no attack on any government official since the beginning of the protest.
“However, today’s attack changed the narrative. It was not a spontaneous attempt. The attackers had it all planned. They had guns and other weapons. In fact, it was a woman who smashed the windscreen of the vehicle of the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Wole Oyebamiji where I was.
“It is really sad that these people infiltrated the ranks of the peaceful protesters and took advantage of the Governor’s walk with the youths to execute their sinister intentions.
“It was simply a street coup to take out the Governor, his Deputy and the Secretary to the State Government, all of whom were exposed during the protest and had to be smuggled into vehicles when the attack was launched”.
