A pre-congress stakeholders’ meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State descended into chaos on Tuesday after suspected thugs stormed the party’s secretariat in Akure, assaulting top officials and leaving several members injured.
The attack occurred less than 24 hours before the party’s scheduled ward congress across the state’s 203 wards.
Eyewitnesses said the assailants, armed with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons, disrupted the meeting, shouting slogans allegedly in support of the state governor.
One witness claimed the attackers declared that no congress would hold in the state and issued threats against those advocating for it.
Among those reportedly beaten were the APC State Chairman, Ade Adetimehin; a board commissioner of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Otito Atikase; and former Commissioner for Sports, Saka Yusuf-Ogunleye.
The injured were said to have been rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment.
Adetimehin confirmed the incident, alleging that the attackers were sponsored to disrupt the meeting.
“Thirty minutes later, the place was invaded by thugs with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons.
They beat leaders and members. They dragged me on the floor and took away my two phones, money, and wristwatch,” he said.
However, the Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Idowu Ajanaku, denied any involvement of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa in the violence, describing the allegations as “unfounded, false and misleading.
He maintained that the governor neither authorised nor had prior knowledge of the meeting.
The Ondo State Police Command confirmed the attack.
Police Public Relations Officer, Abayomi Jimoh, said officers responded swiftly to a distress call and restored calm at the scene.
“The police command received a distress call and immediately deployed operatives to the APC state secretariat. Normalcy has been restored, and investigations are ongoing,” Jimoh stated.
The incident has heightened tensions within the party ahead of the crucial ward congress, raising concerns about internal divisions and security in the state’s political landscape.