It was a tense scene on Wednesday at the NTC, Iyaganku, Sharp Corner area of Ibadan as Mogaji Akin Fagbemi, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and his supporters reportedly left the venue of the party’s primary election over alleged threats to their safety.
Fagbemi, who was an aspirant for the Ibadan North-West/Ibadan South-West Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives, was said to have raised concerns after a group of suspected thugs allegedly arrived at the venue and threatened delegates believed to be supporting his candidacy.
According to accounts from Fagbemi and his supporters, some delegates also received threatening messages warning them against voting for the aspirant. One of the messages reportedly read: “Vote Akin Fagbemi, vote for Acid. Vote Akin Fagbemi, vote for death.”
Fagbemi said he had alerted the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) after receiving the alleged threats. He later told journalists at a location where he and some of his supporters had sought safety that they decided to leave the venue after becoming concerned about the security situation.
The aspirant expressed disappointment over the development, saying he and some other party members had been involved in efforts to rebuild the PDP in the constituency through various empowerment initiatives and support for party members.
He alleged that some individuals who joined the party later had taken control of its structures for personal political interests.
Fagbemi also claimed that he had previously been warned by some party officials and elders against pursuing his ambition to contest the primary.
According to him, he rejected the alleged threats because he believed that democratic principles required party members to be allowed to freely choose their preferred candidate.
“I believe that in a democracy, people’s votes should count. I did not know that some desperate elements would go this far to prevent a free, fair and credible process,” he said.
Fagbemi further alleged that about 200 suspected thugs were present at the venue and that some of them were carrying substances he believed could be dangerous.
“About 200 thugs were brought to the venue of the primary and they were all over the place, threatening to kill or maim whoever identified with me.
They came with liquid contents suspected to be acid,” he alleged.
He said his group had earlier written to the primary election committee, informing it that they would not participate unless adequate security arrangements were put in place from the outset.
“We are law-abiding people and we left the venue for them. We had written to the committee that we could not go to the primary unless security was provided from the beginning, and our fears were later confirmed by the threats to my life and those of my supporters,” Fagbemi said.
Despite the development, the politician urged his supporters to remain calm and await further directives, saying he would announce his next line of action at the appropriate time.
Quoting the popular saying, “He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day,” Fagbemi expressed confidence that the situation would eventually be resolved.
He also maintained that his commitment to the party and his political aspirations remained intact, despite what he described as an increasingly difficult atmosphere within the constituency.
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