Suspected armed thugs on Thursday attacked the campaign office of the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, in Osogbo.
A Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who visited the building, popularly known as “Oranmiyan House”, located along ever busy Gbongan-Ibadan road in Osogbo, reports that empty bullet shells were seen all over the floor.
The wall of the building was also riddled with bullets, while some canopies arranged within the premises were half way burnt.
It was learnt that the suspected thugs, armed with pump action guns, arrived at the building at about 5:30 pm and shot sporadically.
The shooting was said to have caused pandemonium around the ever-busy area, where the building is located.
Road side sellers as well as passers-by were said to have run away in different directions during the shooting spree, which lasted for more than 15 minutes.
According to an eyewitness, the suspected thugs were five in number.
“I was standing at the front of the building when they approach and asked everyone to leave and thereafter started shooting at the building.
“They shattered the windows, the transformer in front of the building and the bullets that passed through the canopies set them on fire,” an eyewitness, who preferred anonymity, said.
It was learnt that one of thugs was arrested by the police.
However, efforts to get the reactions of the Police Public Relation Officers, DSP Yemisi Opalola, proved abortive as calls made to her mobile line were not answered and text messages sent were not responded to.
Meanwhile, the state government has condemned the attack on the building.
A statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs Funke Egbemode, said the Commissioner of Police had been charged to fish out the perpetrators of the attack and bring them before the law.
Egbemode also warned parents and guardians to be more vigilant with their children and wards, to forestall occasions where they become instruments in the hands of trouble makers.
The Commissioner also dissociated the government from any involvement in the attack, saying that it was wicked for anyone to attribute such mischief to a government that had invested heavily in peace in the state.
“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 defies reasoning that a man who has invested so much in the peace of Osun in the last three years will descend that low.
“This government is united, it has all its ducks in a row.
“The Party is also united and its status and activities have been ratified by the national secretariat.
“There are no reasons to join issues with anyone, let alone engaging in violent act.
“Those who are grabbing at straws to stay afloat, especially because their rebels’ den has fallen like a pack of cards, should try to fix their fortunes instead of blaming everybody, but themselves, for what has happened to them.
“This government is about making Osun better and about building structures that even the unborn generation can inherit.
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“It will not fold its hands while those who have neither focus nor interest in the development of the State, and in building an enduring legacy, try to rubbish what this administration has achieved through the help of God and the support of the good people of Osun.
“The government of Osun State condemns Thursday’s attack on Oranmiyan House, because it is nothing close to what we represent as a people.
“Those involved in the attack on Oranmiyan House will be fished out and be made to face the full wrath of the law.
“The governor has charged the Commissioner of Police to fish out the perpetrators of the attack, and charge them to court immediately.
“This administration will not quit its drive to rid the State of the few criminal elements that are causing troubles around.
“The government warns that this is a political season and as we approach the primaries and eventual election, parents and guardians are advised to keep an eye on their wards because nobody caught in any act of criminality will be spared,” she said. (NAN)
