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Ondo lawmakers escape to Oyo, allege death threats; want police Commissioner redeployed

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JUST IN: Ondo House of Assembly impeaches Speaker, Deputy

Members of the Ondo State House of Assembly, who took part in the impeachment of the former Speaker Bamidele Oloyelogun and his Deputy, Ogundeji lroju, have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to save their lives and those of their family members.

The 18 of them who effected the change in the House leadership claimed that they have relocated to Ibadan, the capital of a neighbouring state, Oyo.

Recall that about seven of them were reportedly beaten up along with journalists, and Ondo State Assembly workers last Friday by thugs allegedly led by the state chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Jacob Adebo.

The thugs had invaded the Assembly after the Friday impeachment of the former Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

Olamide George and Faloju Abimbola who were elected as new Speaker and deputy respectively are among the 18 lawmakers currently incubating in Ibadan.

All of them were absent at a peace meeting organised by the state Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, at the weekend to reverse the impeachment. They were said to have shunned the meeting over fears they might be attacked again.

Only seven members in the camp of the sacked leaders attended the peace meeting.

In a petition to the Inspector-General of Police signed by the new speaker, his deputy and the Majority Leader, Gbenga Araoyinbo, they alleged that they and their family members were being threatened over the impeachment.

They called on the IGP and President Buhari to rescue them from alleged reign of terror in the state.

George claimed that the former speaker and his deputy were impeached over gross misconduct, financial recklessness, abuse of power and incompetence.

READ ALSO: APC governorship candidate, Uzodinma arrested

“We are duly elected members of the state assembly, acting within the confines of the constitutional duties at plenary. Surprisingly, the impeached speaker led to the assembly, Mr Gbenga Adeyanju, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Ade Adetimehin, State APC Chairman, Mr Jacob Adebo, State Chairman, NURTW, about 50 heavily armed officers and thugs. They invaded the assembly and assaulted honourable members, assembly staff, journalists and visitors to the assembly complex,” he said.

Noting that there are video and pictorial documentations of the alleged vandalisation of cars and properties worth several millions of naira by thugs under the principal officers called on the IGP to urgently redeploy the commissioner of police from the state, for his alleged bias.

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