Convoy of wife of Osun State governor, Mrs Kafayat Oyetola, was reportedly attacked by suspected hoodlums Friday evening.

Sources in Owode, Ede, where the incident occurred said the convoy of Mrs Oyetola was heading to Osogbo and was around Owode market when intermittent gunshots were heard around 8:pm on Friday.

A resident of the area, who preferred to be simply identified as Alayande, said on Saturday that a truck had created obstruction of traffic when the convoy arrived Owode market junction.

“It was while trying to make the truck driver to move that altercation ensued between security men attached to the convoy.

“I heard several gunshots where I stood near the junction. It was dark but there was altercation between security men and some people suspected to be hoodlums,” he said.

Information Officer to the office of the First Lady, Oluwatunmise Iluyomade, said the convoy was attacked.

She said “No life was lost in the incident. Some security personnel attached to the convoy sustained various degrees of injuries.”

A post by Facebook user Akinola Lukman Mayowa which tagged Hon Olalekan Badmus and many others, accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of mastering the attack.

Mr Lukman’s post stated that it was PDP’s political thugs that attacked Mrs Oyetola’s convoy.

His statement reads;

”Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, political thugs on Friday , attacked the convoy of the wife of the Governor, Mrs. Kafayat Oyetola, in Owode Ede.

Ede is the home town of the Governor -elect, Senator Ademola Adeleke.

The attack is coming barely two weeks after a list of top Government Officials allegedly marked for attack by the opposition PDP surfaced in the social media.

Trouble was said to have started when security operatives attached to the First Lady tried to clear the traffic around Owode Ede to allow for easy passage. Unknown to them, some PDP thugs had positioned themselves and began hauling stones and other dangerous weapons at the convoy, thereby smatching the vehicles and injuring some security operatives in the convoy.

An eyewitness also said “I saw the convoy. But I did not know who the occupant was. They blared the siren but the truck refused to give way. The truck driver is not even from Osun. But some boys just came from nowhere and asked him to use the truck to block the road, to prevent the convoy from proceeding and he agreed. Before you knew it, stones began flying from left and right, all directed at the convoy. To me, it looked like a planned work. But the truck driver only lent himself to be used.”

But the PDP in a Saturday statement said the attack was allegedly caused by Mrs. Oyetola’s escort who beat up a truck driver whose vehicle blocked the road.

The statement was released by Osun PDP Media Director, Oladele Bamiji, titled ‘How First Lady’s Escorts Beat Up Truck Driver, Sparking Public Reaction-Osun PDP’ reads;

“We are shocked to read this morning the futile attempt by the office of the outgoing First Lady to cover up the irresponsible conduct of her escort who beat up a truck driver at Owode, leading to public angry reactions against her entire convoy.

“According to eyewitness accounts, yesterday was Owode Ede market day and the road was expectedly crowded.

“A truck had developed a fault right in the middle of the road with the driver making efforts to get it to work.

“That was the point the First Lady’s convoy arrived at the scene and instead of helping to clear the traffic hold up , the security operatives around the First Lady pounced on the truck driver, beating him to a state of stupor.

“Realising the outcome of their criminal misadventure, the operatives rushed the driver to the hospital after the former had slumped. It was at this point that people around the market angrily reacted, pelting the convoy with stones and others.

“Eye witness accounts further revealed that as at the time the convoy was attacked, the angry crowd were not even aware of who was in the convoy until reinforcement was sent to the scene from Government House with sporadic shootings.

“We have gone this far with the details of the incident to strongly deny allegations that PDP thugs were responsible for the self-inflicted attacks on the convoy of the First Lady.

“As a party, we have no Asiri Eniba or Rashid Oko Ilu as the First Lady’s family actively nurtured before, during and after the election.

“PDP is a people’s party whose members will never harass and molest innocent citizens whose only crime was pursuing their daily needs under an economy recklessly battered by the First Lady’s party.

“We call on the First Lady to apologise to the truck driver who was inhumanly treated. It is not enough to rush him to the hospital. The First Lady should atone for the sins of his overzealous escorts unless she was responsible for the directive to beat up the innocent driver.

“Instead of blaming the PDP, we call on officials of the outgoing government to be mindful of their interface with the people of Osun state. Our people have been badly governed with harsh economic pains under a clearly inhuman administration.

“It is unacceptable and reprehensible for a First Lady and her team to assault a citizen and turn round to blame the opposition.”