Posted by By AKEEB ALARAPE, Ibadan on
A new twist has emerged in the reported invasion of the private residence of the former governor of Oyo State, Senator Rasidi Ladoja, by gunmen, as his supporters on Sunday alleged that they had uncovered a plan by his political opponents to dump dead body in his house in order to implicate him.
A new twist has emerged in the reported invasion of the private residence of the former governor of Oyo State, Senator Rasidi Ladoja, by gunmen, as his supporters on Sunday alleged that they had uncovered a plan by his political opponents to dump dead body in his house in order to implicate him.
Besides, the ex-governor's supporters also accused the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Jonathan Johnson, of being economical with the truth over his statement that the suspected gunmen that invaded Ladoja's house on Saturday were supporters of Alhaji Wasiu Abubakre, a.k.a. Tawa.
Tawa, as popularly called, was the State Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Oyo State chapter during the 30 months tenure of Ladoja, before he too was overthrown by Alhaji Lateef Akinsola, a.k.a. Tokyo.
It would be recalled that about 30 suspected political thugs invaded the Bodija, Ibadan, private residence of Ladoja, brandishing lethal weapons and sending panic into the neighbourhood.
Although, the supporters of the controversially impeached governor told Daily Sun on Saturday that they did not know the motive behind the invasion, they, however, said the gunmen were known faces of supporters of a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
But yesterday, the supporters said they learnt that the motive of the gunmen was to dump bolii (roasted plantain), a coined-word for dead body, in the house of the former governor so as to implicate him.
"Our findings show that they seemed to be jittery over the impending court judgement at the Court of Appeal. So, they want to cause a fresh crisis for His Excellency, Senator Rasidi Ladoja. We have learnt that their coming here yesterday was to dump bolii, a dead body, which they will later use to implicate the governor. They thought people don't stay here on Saturdays and Sundays," the supporters told Daily Sun, during a visit to the house yesterday.
They also faulted the statement of the state police boss, Mr Jonathan Johnson, who told a national newspaper (not Daily Sun) that the gunmen were Tawa's supporters, saying the CP's statement was farther from the truth.
"His men came here. Officials of the State Security Services (SSS) and men of the State Criminal Investigation Deparment (SCID) were also here. They did not only spoke to us, they interviewed some of the residents about what happened.
We gave them the names of those we saw. So, we are very disappointed with the statement of the Police Commissioner. He is not fair
to us", Waidi Akinrinde, who witnessed the incident on Saturday stated.
The supporters, numbering about 40 in the house, however commended men of the state command, whom they said, watched over the neighbourhood all through the night and during the early hours of yesterday.