Violence as AC, PDP clash in Ibadan - Over Saturday’s bye-election; Ladoja escapes lynching, 10 injured; They first attacked us - PDP; Thank God they didn’t kill me - Ladoja

By Adeolu Adeyemo - 24.01.2008

A few hours to the arrival of former governors of Lagos and Anambra states, Ahmed Bola Tinubu and Chris Ngige respectively, in Oyo State to lead the Action Congress (AC) campaign for Saturday’s bye-election into the Lagelu/Akinyele federal constituency, the former governor of the state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, was on Tuesday evening escaped unhurt in a clash between some members of the AC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The incident happened at Lalupon area of Ibadan, Oyo State capital, and 10 people were injured in the pandemonium which lasted for several hours before the intervention of the state police command.

Bashir Latinwo, the AC candidate for the election and who is a former aide of the ex-governor Ladoja and some politicians from the PDP camp were also said to have been beaten blue and black. The ex-governor narrowly escaped being lynched by the fierce-looking men armed with cutlasses, axes, clubs, knives, dane guns, stones and other weapons.

Ladoja was said to have been held hostage for several hours before being rescued by the police despatched to the scene. Trouble started when the former governor was going to Lalupon in the company of a former commissioner and past chairman of the council, Mr. Oribayo Okeyode, to visit traditional rulers in the area and obtain police permit at Lalupon for their political rally before PDP members ran into them.

On sighting themselves at Lalupon, it was gathered that loyalists of the two parties shot into the air and this later snowballed into the clash.

The clash threw the area into confusion and residents ran to escape being killed or maimed. Vehicles, including the ones being occupied by Ladoja and his aides, were reportedly damaged while those wounded had been hospitalised in different parts of the town.

While confirming the incident, the state police public relations officer, Bisi Okuwobi, described the incident as unfortunate, but alleged that it was the people on the entourage of the former governor that first launched an attack on the PDP members who came to the police station to obtain a permit for a political rally.