Councillorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Ewutuntun Ward in the Oshodi local government area of Lagos state, Bamisedun Rilwan, has accused some members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the area of alleged harassment and threat to his life during the July local government election in the state.
In a statement by the PDP councillorship candidate, he said some supporters of the APC assaulted members of his family and neighbours on the day of the election on July 24, 2021.
Bamisedun, who said that the attack was carried out because of his refusal to dump his ambition and decamp to the ruling APC, added that some APC stalwarts had approached him to dump his ambition before the poll.
The PDP candidate said that the alleged intimidation and harassment lasted from the beginning of his campaign till the day of the election, rejecting the results announced by the LASIEC which recorded 2,000 votes for him and 24,000 votes for his APC counterpart, “saying there was no election”.
“At the indication of my aspiration to contest under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party, I have been severally consulted by notable APC big wigs to dump my ambition and decamp to their party, but I refused insisting that we meet on the field and let the people decide.
“My refusal brought about what happened in my ward on July 24, 2021. My refusal angered them And resulted in threat, harassment and blackmail. Notwithstanding, I stood my ground that the people of the community have the right to choose who will represent them at the level.
“At about 11:30 am while I was preparing to go out to cast my vote, we heard gunshot. We rushed out to the balcony and behold my neighbours were under attack by APC thugs made up of members of the NURTW. Two of my neighbours were being assaulted with my elder brother, Oni Odunayo, who is an American citizen. They were brutally beaten and sustained injuries, fractures on the leg and jaws on the fateful day. He was almost killed”, he said.
Bamisedun, who said that he had instituted legal steps against assault on his US-citizen brother, called on the government and the law enforcement agents to bring perpetrators to book to serve as deterrent to others that may intend to harass law abiding people.
