Ahead of the November 2016 governorship election in Ondo State, officers of the Nigerian Police Force went on rampage in the morning of Tuesday, October 18, 2016 arresting over 50 youth leaders and supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ondo State.
According to reports, “the youth leaders were invited by the Police from across the state for questioning at the Police Headquarters in Akure, as law abiding citizens, they honoured the invitation, but on getting to the police headquarters they were all harassed and threatened to fill undertaken form and thereafter detained.”
In his reaction, the state publicity secretary of the PDP, Banji Okunomo, who condemned the detention of the PDP youth leaders, said the plan of the Police in connivance with the APC-led Federal government is to create panic and make Ondo State look politically unsafe for the people of the state.
“Much as we are not saying that security agencies should not perform their duties, if, especially, they find anybody wanting in conduct or behaviour, we also want to say that any act on the part of these security agents should be properly channeled.
“We do not indulge in violence or any act of criminality like others. Even when we were having our internal intrigues in the party, we have always comported ourselves.” Okunomo said.
The party therefore called on the Police to stop harassing its members and release those in its detention.
Also condemning the development, a socio-political group in Ondo State, Ondo Movement for Democratic Dividends (OMDD) said it is quite unfortunate that the Police could allow itself to be a tool of intimidating law abiding citizens.
The group in a statement issued in Akure on Tuesday said “It is sad that the Police, who failed to arrest and detain members of the APC who have been causing violence and brandishing weapons across the city, threatening the peace in Ondo State in the last two months as a result of their controversial primaries, now flex muscle in harassing law abiding youths in the state.”
We the good people of Ondo State are known to always stand for the truth and we will resist, through all legitimate means, attempts by the security agencies and the APC-led Federal government to intimidate and humiliate the good people of Ondo State in its do or die move to capture Ondo into bondage and recession.
The group also called for the release of the detained youth leaders.
