Posted by DELE OGUNYEMI, Ibadan on
GOVERNOR Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State at the weekend in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, escaped possible death following an invasion by suspected assassins alleged to have been keeping vigil at his residence at Iyaganku Government Reservation Area (GRA).
GOVERNOR Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State at the weekend in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, escaped possible death following an invasion by suspected assassins alleged to have been keeping vigil at his residence at Iyaganku Government Reservation Area (GRA).
The Governor however told Daily Champion on phone that the attempt on his life was political, adding that the attack was from the opposition party (AD).
He however thanked God for the escape adding that the God that put him there will also protect him throughout his tenure.
Sources close to the Governor said he had arrived the Ibadan residence last Friday to take a weekend rest, but left on Saturday, a day before the incident, for a crucial engagement somewhere else.
Daily Champion gathered that the invaders numbering four men had arrived the Fagbohun Street, Iyaganku GRA residence in a Toyota Corolla car and a Hiace bus with no number plate.
They, however, had a raw deal in the hands of the MOPOL security operatives guarding Governor Fayose's house who succeeded in arresting one of the suspects on Sunday evening after surveillance on the group while the others escaped with a camera which they were said to have used to take a shot of the Governor's house that is undergoing rehabilitation.
Recovered from arrested suspect were a Barreta pistol and campaign poster carrying the picture of a prominent Alliance for Democracy (AD) governorship asspirant in Ekiti State.
The arrested suspect has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID),Iyaganku where the police said they were investigating the incident.
During a visit to the Governor's residence yesterday morning, a security guard, one Mr. Mohammed Shasha, narrated the incident to Daily Champion explaining that the men had been patrolling the street since Friday until the arrest was effected on Sunday evening following survellance mounted on them.
This assertion was corroborated by sources at Fayose's residence who actually claimed that one of the men came to the house on Saturday, asking to see the Ekiti State Commissioner for Works, Mr. Kayode Osho, who said he never knew any of them.
The men were said to have repeated the call again on Sunday around 5 p.m.but were challenged by the security men who ordered them to stop.
Refusing the order of the security operatives caused the MOPOL to open fire on the tyres of the vehicle with the intent to prevent the suspected assailants from escaping.
In the ensuing melee, one of the intruders escaped as he hurriedly pulled off the door of the moving car, and ran off but one of the suspects was eventually nabbed and was subsequently taken to the Iyaganku police station before being transferred to the State CID for further investigation.
Confirming the incident in Ibadan yesterday, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the State Command, Mr. Femi Adedeji, stated however that "we should not hurriedly conclude in the matter until investigation proves that it is a case of attempted assassination."
He confirmed that some of the items recovered from one of the suspects said to be an Ibadan-based artist include a Barreta pistol, which he said was empty, and posters of a politician in Ekiti State.
The PPRO maintained that investigations are being intensified into the matter with a view to getting to the roots of the whole episode.