Unknown hoodlums, on Friday night, set ablaze the Ede residence of the parents of Kofoworola Babajide. Babajide is the Minority Leader in the Osun State House of Assembly.
It was also gathered that residents of Ede town are now living in fear in the aftermath of the incident.
Babajide, while speaking to journalists on Saturday revealed that his father has not been seen since his house was burnt down.
He disclosed that before his parent’s house was burnt, some hoodlums suspected to be political thugs had earlier attacked some members of the Peoples Democratic Party at the venue of a ward he attended in Ede.
“Some armed thugs attacked us during a ward meeting of PDP in Ede yesterday (Friday). After that, I left for Osogbo. Later, I was told that they were attacking my parents’ house. They burnt the house and since then, I have not seen my father.
“We don’t know if he’s burnt alive inside the house or they have kidnapped him.”
The Osun State Governor-elect, Senator Ademola Adeleke has since reacted to the development.
His spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, Adeleke accused the outgoing Governor, Gboyega Oyetola of plotting to destabilise the state ahead of his exit from office in November.
He stated that the agenda is to start conflicts and reprisal attacks from Ede which will eventually engulf the whole state ahead of the transition exercise.
Senator Adeleke who strongly condemned the arson attacks on the lawmaker’s family called on security agencies to nip in the bud, the emerging agenda to plunge the state into crisis, warning that the peaceful conduct of the July election and the jubilant mood post-election should be sustained.
“I urge security agencies to swing into action and bring to book perpetrators of that dastardly attack on an innocent senior citizen whose only sin may be that his son is the PDP’s minority leader in Osun State House of Assembly. Acts of violence must stop as election is not war.
“I appeal to the political class in Osun state particularly Governor Oyetola to be mindful of the harsh socio-economic condition of our people at the grassroots. We should respect their choice of leadership. It is immoral to further complicate the prevailing hardship with mindless politically motivated violence.”
The Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party also called Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and security agencies to immediately arrest the situation in Ede and other parts of the state before it escalates.
The Caretaker Chairman of the PDP, Adekunle Akindele in the statement on Saturday also condemned the attack on Babajide.
The Osun State Police Command has since confirmed the incident.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Yemisi Opalola said the incident happened on Friday night.
