COUNCIL BOSS ESCAPES DEATH FROM THUGS

By NBF News

Council boss escapes death from thugs
BY 'TUNDE THOMAS
Friday, March 05, 2010
It was sheer divine providence that saved the life of the chairman of Orile-Agege Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, Hon. Taofeek Adaranijo, last Thursday when fierce-looking hoodlums wielding dangerous weapons invaded the council headquarters at Abekoko area threatening to snuff life out of the embattled council boss and some Action Congress (AC) leaders whom they accused of manipulating the on-going registration exercise of AC in the state.

The thugs allegedly led by a notorious party member were said to have shot some passers-by and an artisan in error as they were looking for the council chairman who unknown to them was at a meeting with Governor Babatunde Fashola.

According to some party chieftains who spoke on the incident, the thugs were not too pleased with the way the party registration cards were being shared among politicians.

Reacting to the incident, the council chairman said he was shocked that such incident could happen in the LCDA: 'We in Orile-Agege have never had any politically-motivated wrangling. The issue is an attempted murder and I have since lodged a report with the Elere Divisional Police Station and the case has been transferred to Panti for investigation.

'I want the police to handle it their own way. I don't want to take law into my hands and neither do I want the party to be accused of partisanship.' Corroborating the council chairman's statement, the Orile-Agege AC chairman, Alhaji Bashir Abanikanda, said all the AC ward party chairmen have suspended further meetings over fear of possible attack: 'My ward chairmen said they would no longer hold meetings for now because their lives are in danger. This is an unprecedented event. Even the Divisional Police Officer at Elere said since he was posted here, he has never received any case of political disturbance in this area. We are, however, going to nip it in the bud.'

At the State Criminal Investigations Department, SCID, Panti, Yaba, Lagos, officials stated that the case was under investigation, adding that anybody found culpable would be charged to court.