7/08/2015

Touts attack pensioners during anti-Aregbesola protest

Firstclass newsline learnt that some hoodlums on Tuesday attacked
pensioners and human rights activists who staged a protest against
Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State over his inability to pay them
for the past seven months.
Firstclass newsline learnt that the pensioners and some human rights
activists under the aegis of Civil Societies' Coalition for
Emancipation of Osun State had gathered at Ayetoro area of Osogbo from
where the protesters took off but some youths pelted them with water
sachets.
Angered by the effrontery of the youths, one of the pensioners told
our correspondent that some of his colleagues repelled the attackers
by stoning them in return.
The protesters, he said, advanced to Igbona where they were ambushed
by some armed thugs who hurled stones at the elderly persons and
flogged some of them especially the women who could not run as fast as
their male colleagues.
The police were said to have intervened by shooting into the air to
scare away the hoodlums.
The leader of the police team was said to have appealed to the
pensioners to stop the protest, saying the police would not want a
clash between them and pro-Aregbesola youths who were also protesting
at Olaiya Junction.
The pensioners, who later regrouped, stopped singing anti-Aregbesola's
songs while the few remaining senior citizens continued with the
protest.
The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions such as
"Aregbesola, pay pensioners their stipends, "Aregbesola: Stop
receiving N500m monthly as security votes," "Osun Assembly: Treat
Justice Folahanmi's petition," and "Our demand is that Aregbesola must
go."
The Chairman of CSCEO, Mr. Adeniyi Alimi, said the group would not
relent in its protest until Aregbesola "is removed from office."
He said, "This is a serious matter. Although, we are practising
democracy in Nigeria but in Osun we are under a demonic and oppressive
rule. We need to save this state now. Everybody must be involved
because under our nose, Aregbesola has completely destroyed this
state.
"In this country, we fought the military to a standstill and in this
case, we will continue with our mobilisation from house to house,
market to market, school to school until this repressive regime is
booted out. Aregbesola must go."
While the pensioners and civil society groups' protest was going on,
some pro-Aregbesola youths and some notable activists, who are loyal
to the governor also marched to Olaiya Junction from Odi Olowo, saying
no to the planned impeachment of the governor.
A serving judge in Osun State Judiciary, Justice Folahanmi Oloyede,
had petitioned the House of Assembly on the alleged financial
recklessness of Aregbesola and asked the House to impeach the
governor.
Many had thought the lawmakers would begin the impeachment process on
Tuesday. Consequently, some anti-Aregbesola groups had planned to
demonstrate in support of the impeachment while some pro-Aregbesola
also trooped out in support of the governor.
Some youths, who were armed with a gun, axes, saw and cudgels stormed
Olaiya junction and disrupted the pro-Aregbesola demonstration.
However, the hoodlums who some claimed to be 'State Boys' being
sponsored by the governor, shot sporadically into the air to disrupt
the anti-Aregbesola's protest while those watching the debacle fled.
One of the thugs, who bore a rifle, came on a bike just like his
colleagues and he shot into the air repeatedly before they boarded a
mini commercial bus already waiting for them.
There was a heavy presence of police at Olaiya Junction and other
flash points in Osogbo to ensure that the situation did not degenerate
into a total breakdown of law and order.
But the Osun Progressives and other civil societies group led by its
Convener, Wale Adebisi and his deputy, Waheed Lawal, in a statement
condemned the attack on pro-Aregbesola's protesters.
Adebisi accused the Peoples Democratic Party of disrupting the protest
which he said was a peaceful demonstration to defend the mandate given
to Aregbesola by the majority of the people of the state.
Reacting to the allegation the Director of Publicity of the PDP in the
state, Mr. Diran Odeyemi, told a source on the telephone that the PDP
knew nothing about the attack.
He said, "It is unfortunate that the APC is still using their old
method of blaming the PDP for their evils. Do they still want the
people to believe that outright lie? We do not have anything to do
with any protest."
Firstclassnewsline.net

No comments:

Post a Comment

To get the world and your friends informed.. Feel free to share every news you read on this site on any web or on any social network by clicking on the SHARE BUTTON ABOVE or share it by any other means but ensure to always share with the site link(web address) for reference and to avoid being SUED for intellectual theft.......post a comment after reading as well..,...we are here to serve you the best

use anonymous to post a comment if necessary