Bamidele Escapes Death as Hoodlums Attack Convoy

Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele

A member of the House of Representatives from Ekiti State, Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele, at the weekend, escaped death by the whiskers, when some hoodlums attacked him in Igede Ekiti, which the next community to his Iyin-Ekiti country home.

It was gathered that during the incident, his attackers had shot at the Land Cruiser Jeep conveying him, while another Black Prado Jeep on his convoy was damaged.

Narrating his ordeal to journalists in a telephone conversation Monday, Bamidele, who is representing Ado/Irepodun /Ifelodun Federal Constituency, said some of his supporters were also attacked, while some of them sustained varying degrees of injuries.
He also confirmed that four people have been arrested by the police and detained at the Okesa Police Station in the state capital in connection with the incident.

The lawmaker, who alleged that some powerful forces in government, were already mounting pressure on the Area Commander of Okesa Police Station to release the detainees, described the incident as a bitter experience.

The lawmaker, who is also a member of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) at the lower chambers of the National Assembly, said he was at the residence of one Chief Ilori Adu, in Igede Ekiti, at about 8 p.m. on the day of the incident, when the hoodlums armed to the teeth invaded the place in an Infinity Jeep.

He alleged that the said Jeep belonged to the Caretaker Chairman of Irepodun/Ifelodun local government area, Mr Olufemi Awe.

The lawmaker further alleged that Awe was responsible for the attack, disclosing that Awe’s driver, Mr. Fatai Akerele, drove the Jeep that conveyed the hoodlums to the scene, where they hurled stones at them.

Bamidele explained that he was in the town to complete the negotiation of an office accommodation belonging to Adu at a location in Ado-Ekiti, which he thought was erroneously misrepresented for a meeting.

“I was in Igede Ekiti to complete the negotiation of an office accommodation for my situation office in Ado Ekiti. As we were about leaving, we just heard the sound of a stone on the Prado Jeep because I was conveyed to the town in that vehicle, but unknowing to them, I had already entered the Land Cruiser my driver brought later.

“They attacked the Prado Jeep, smashed the windscreen because they thought I was inside. They even shot at the Land Cruiser Jeep when they realized that I was not in the Prado Jeep, but I escaped by whiskers,” he said.

He called on the security agencies to warn those that were launching unwarranted attacks on him and his supporters because they perceived him as a threat to their political aspirations.

The lawmaker said no amount of threat would dissuade him from forging ahead with his political aspiration in 2014.

When contacted, the Caretaker Chairman denied the allegation, saying he and his driver, Fatai, had been in Akure three days before the incident to coordinate the recruitment into Nigerian Air Force in the state capital.

He also said he had no Infinity Jeep in his fleet, which he said had further exonerated him of any complicity in the incident.

Awe said: “This is a lie. Why should I do something like that against a member of my party and a member of House of Representatives? Again, the vehicle he said they brought was not mine. So, I don’t have any axe to grind with the Rep member to warrant me sponsoring attack on him”.

When called for confirmation, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Sotonye Wakama, said the command was aware of the incident, but said no arrest had been made.