Gunmen attack Aregbesola’s Oranmiyan House; Gov. Oyetola denies responsibility

Gunmen on Thursday attacked the campaign office of interior minister and ex-Osun Governor Rauf Aregbesola in Osogbo, with people fingering incumbent Governor Gboyega Oyetola as brains behind the attack.

The building, popularly known as Oranmiyan House, located along Gbongan-Ibadan road in Osogbo, was littered with bullet shells.

The building’s wall was riddled with bullets, while some canopies arranged on the premises were burnt.

The suspected gunmen, armed with pump-action guns, arrived at the building at about 5:30 p.m., shooting sporadically.

The shooting was said to have caused pandemonium in the area, with roadside traders and passers-by taking to their heels.

The shooting spree lasted more than 15 minutes.

According to a witness, the armed attackers were five.

“I was standing at the front of the building when they approached and asked everyone to leave and thereafter started shooting at the building,” disclosed the witness.

He added, “They shattered the windows, the transformer in front of the building and the bullets that passed through the canopies set them on fire.”

It was learnt one of the attackers was arrested by the police.

However, efforts to get the reactions of the police spokesperson Yemisi Opalola were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, the Osun government has condemned the attack on the building.

In a statement by the commissioner for information and civic orientation, Funke Egbemode, the Osun government dissociated itself from the attack.

“The accusation that the government of Mr Adegboyega Oyetola had anything to do with Thursday’s attack on the Oranmiyan House is sad and laughable,” it stated. “The government of Osun state condemns Thursday’s attack on Oranmiyan House because it is nothing close to what we represent as a people.”

(NAN)