The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have traded words over the murder of an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the March 18, elections in the state.
The INEC ad hoc staff member, Emmanuel Adeniran, was reportedly killed when he refused to alter the results of the governorship and House of Assembly polls in Ogijo area of Sagamu LGA.
Adebutu, who visited the family of the late Adeniran, disclosed that he left behind a wife and three young children.
Adebutu, who described the man as upright, condemned the killing and violence that characterised the elections, saying election should not be do-or-die.
He added that the man was smart enough to have uploaded the results on the INEC Election Result Viewer (IReV), but paid with his life.
He said, “One of INEC’s officials in Ogijo refused to rig for APC because we kept on saying Ogijo will get a border community development agency. The man, an indigene of Ogijo, refused to rig for them. They killed him; APC killed him all because of this election.
“The man refused to rig, so they killed him. I went there; you need to see the widow and the three children. Luckily, the man was smart enough, a lot of those results had been uploaded, but he still paid with his life.”
Adebutu asked Nigerians not to blame INEC as an institution for the anomalies in the last elections, saying individuals who allegedly orchestrated the rigging should be fished out to face the law.
But reacting, the APC in a statement yesterday by its state Publicity Secretary, Tunde Oladunjoye, described Adebutu’s visit to the slain official’s family as “panicky, patronizing, a cheap and wicked way to seek popularity.”
He said, “The death of the officer is painful, condemnable and wickedness of the highest order. Ladi’s panicky popularity-seeking visit to the deceased’s family and his gibberish are attempts to obstruct police investigation.
“Ogun State people know who is prone to violence; it is in the DNA of PDP. Remember that a police corporal identified as Sunday Idoko was shot dead by gunmen while escorting election results from Ipokia to the Ilaro collation centre on February 24, 2019.”
