Sagamu murders: APC, PDP trade accusations

The two main political parties in Ogun State are now playing a blame game over the recent cult deaths in Sagamu, thus the dust from those events has not yet settled.

The killing of over 20 people in Sagamu during the cult battles has continued to be blamed on both the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Even though the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested Hon. Damilare Bello, the political parties have been exchanging barbs, despite the fact that the Commissioner of Police in Ogun, Abiodun Alamutu, stated on Sunday that the cultists in Sagamu are neither students nor politicians.

The PDP quickly referred to the APC as “a hub of cultists and criminals” after the APC had earlier called the PDP “a nest of cultists.”

In a statement, Tunde Oladunjoye, the Ogun APC’s publicity secretary, urged the state’s security forces to look into the PDP further in order “to make more arrests and stem the tide of cultism in the state.”

Oladunjoye claims that the rumour that “notable members of the rag-tag PDP in the state are involved in cultism as high ranking members in their various local government areas” is no longer true.

We implore the security agencies to keep tabs on the types of gatherings that the supposedly honourable members are organising, hosting, and preside over in their districts, the speaker continued.

After the PDP lost all of its petitions in the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in the State, Oladunjoye accused the party of engaging in what he called a “high level of absurdity in its fruitless attempt to distract the Administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun.”

In response to recent cult skirmishes in Sagamu, Oladunjoye claimed that the PDP sprang into action “via preemptive paid advertisements” and “attempted to mischievously tag the APC.”

The PDP “shamelessly tried to link its failure at the polls with the cult clashes,” the APC spokesman claimed.

Thus, it was ironic that the top minds behind the Sagamu cult clash, after escaping Sagamu, ended up as “special guests” of the PDP House of Assembly member, who was using his official chambers to conceal the Sagamu escapees.

“The chicken has come home to roost for the cults and their backers in Ogun State. The security officers should go all out since the PDP cult masquerades are being revealed, he added.

Akinloye Bankole, the PDP’s publicity secretary in Ogun, responded quickly by claiming that many people in the state of Ogun live in constant terror of becoming the scene of the next cult murder.

Bankole mentioned the numerous cult killings that have occurred in the state over the past four years and claimed that “Ogun State, whose development began to attract multiple investors that could make life abundant for its citizens, has gradually become a shadow of itself since the assumption of leadership by the current APC government.”

The APC and those holding political position within it, according to the PDP spokesman, have been accused by security authorities of a number of offences.

He claims that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has detained and is currently prosecuting the Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly for allegedly diverting cash intended for the Assembly.

Among other things, Bankole brought up the instance of Bidemi Rufai, a former State Government appointee who was detained in the US for a $350,000 fraud.

He noted that Abiodun Abudu-Balogun, a former Commissioner for Environment, was asked to resign after a minor accused him of attempted rape and molestation. “Like a popular saying, birds of a feather flock together, the same is the situation with several APC, appointees who continue to bring disrepute to a state known for its uprightness,” he said.

Do we need a soothsayer to tell us that Governor Abiodun and his party, the APC, are the architects and masterminds of the current security scenario in Ogun State given the aforementioned and a plethora of other factors that are too numerous to mention?

“We therefore pray that the wish of the people come to reality with the victory of the party and our candidate, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu at the tribunal,” he said. “We, as a party that is committed to the well-being and peaceful coexistence of the good people of Ogun State.”