Says 2027 polls must not be compromised
By Adesina Wahab
Senator Iyabo Obasanjo has raised the alarm over what she described as renewed threats to her life following an attack on a campaign gathering of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Monday.
Obasanjo, the PDP candidate for Ogun Central Senatorial District in the forthcoming National Assembly election, said she was putting the United Nations, the United States Embassy in Nigeria and the international community on notice over what she described as threats to her life and the integrity of the January 2027 elections.
The former senator spoke in an interview with Splash FM late Monday while reacting to the disruption of a PDP campaign gathering at Ward 16, Trailer Park, Soyooye area of Abeokuta North Local Government Area.
According to her, she had seen videos circulating online showing men, some of them masked and allegedly armed with cutlasses, dismantling campaign canopies and attacking people at the venue shortly before her arrival.
She warned that unless what she described as growing political violence was stopped, she and her political associates would seek the attention of the international community.
“This is not the first time they are making attempts at my life,” she alleged, recalling an incident during the 2003 election in which she said gunmen fired at a vehicle in her convoy, believing she was travelling in it.
She claimed that the attack resulted in the death of all the occupants of the vehicle.
“I say it aloud now. If anything happens to me, the whole world should know those who are behind it,” she declared.
The senator’s comments followed Monday’s disruption of the PDP campaign gathering in the Soyooye area, where witnesses said a group of armed men invaded the venue shortly before the arrival of PDP governorship candidate, Hon. Ladi Adebutu, and Obasanjo.
The men, reportedly numbering more than 10, were said to have been armed with cutlasses, axes and other dangerous weapons.
The incident reportedly forced the campaign team to temporarily hold back from the venue as tension mounted.
Adebutu and Obasanjo later arrived at the campaign ground and met supporters who had gathered for the event, as well as evidence of the earlier disturbance, including damaged chairs and tables. Some people were also said to have sustained injuries.
The politicians subsequently contacted security authorities, including the Ogun State Police Command and the Department of State Services (DSS), following which a detachment of police and DSS operatives arrived at the scene.
Initial accounts circulating online alleged that some supporters were attacked and robbed of their mobile phones and other valuables, while campaign materials were also reportedly damaged.
However, the identity and political affiliation of the alleged attackers had not been independently established as of the time of filing this report.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Ogun State, Seyi Babaseyi, when contacted on Monday, could not immediately confirm the circumstances surrounding the incident and requested that inquiries be sent to him by text message. No response had been received as of press time.
In her subsequent Splash FM interview, Obasanjo linked the incident to what she described as a broader pattern of threats against her.
She also questioned what she described as continuing interest by her former political associates in the circumstances surrounding her departure from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and subsequent membership of the PDP.
“They showed clearly they do not want me in APC. They treated me like scum and I left their party for them and got into a party that openly embraced me,” she said.
“So, why are they still concerned about me when I resigned from their party and the internal affairs details of my own party, PDP?”
Obasanjo’s remarks have added a new dimension to Monday’s incident, coming amid preparations for the January 2027 National Assembly election in Ogun State.
She called for heightened attention to the safety of political actors and supporters, warning that continued violence could undermine confidence in the electoral process.
Her allegations concerning the identity and motives of those behind the incident remain claims requiring investigation and independent verification.
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