There was mayhem at a reception organised for Kayode Fayemi, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, as some gunmen and policemen opened fire on members of the APC at the state secretariat, on Friday.
Opeyemi Bamidele, a former member of the house of representatives, has been shot in Ekiti.
The shooting led to the death of an unidentified man.
An armed mobile police officer said to be responsible for the shooting has reportedly been detained.
Bamidele, a former governorship aspirant in the state, has been admitted to an undisclosed hospital in Ado-Ekiti.
Meanwhile, Jide Awe, APC chairman in Ekiti, says “Fayemi was the target” of the shooting.
“We had a gunshot in our rally by a uniformed man,” Awe said.
“He was overpowered by the crowd and they took away the gun from him. It was a sporadic shooting, and I think the man has been apprehended.
“Some of us were upstairs at the party secretariat after the visit of the candidate of our party, Dr Fayemi. He was actually going out of the party office complex when we had the gunshots. He was at the veranda outside, going out to enter his waiting car. A lot of people were hit by bullets.
At the same time, Taiwo Olatunbosun, Ekiti APC publicity secretary, accused Ayodele Fayose, Ekiti governor, of spearheading the disruption.
“It was a smooth ride from Akure Airport to Ikere-Ekiti where thousands of supporters came out to give him a rousing welcome,” the statement read.
“Ikere-Ekiti journey to Ado-Ekiti, a distance of about nine kilometres, lasted two hours in a heavy traffic that was punctuated by four gunmen suspected to be agents of the state government who strategically positioned themselves at the party’s secretariat in Ado-Ekiti for the attack.
“They fired gunshots aimed at Fayemi but hit a former lawmaker, Opeyemi Bamidele, after the former minister had taken a few steps forward before the bullets hit the target.”
In a related development, Caleb Ikechukwu, the Ekiti police spokesman, said a politician masterminded the shooting.
Ikechukwu said the politician, who “has also been arrested,” conspired with the policeman to carry out the act.
The policeman, he said, was posted to a bank in Lagos but travelled to Ekiti for an “illegal duty”.
“At about 17:00 hours, a policeman who accidentally shot Opeyemi Bamidele and one other has been arrested. The policeman is in our custody now,” he said.
“He is attached to 20 police mobile force (PMF) in Ikeja Lagos. He left where he was posted on bank guard duty somewhere in Ikeja for illegal duty in Ekiti state.
“A politician conspired with the policeman and removed him from where he was posted in Lagos and both came to Ekiti for unofficial reasons. The politician has also been arrested.
“The victims of the accidental discharge are currently responding to treatment at the hospital, and also the policeman who was mobbed is also responding to treatment in our protective custody.”
However, the Police PRO refused to disclose the identity of the arrested politician, as he said investigation was still ongoing.
