Osun 2022: How I Escaped Assassination

The Labour Party candidate for Saturday governorship election in Osun state Hon. Lasun Yusuf has disclosed that the presence of security operatives in his house stopped gunmen that invaded his house from accessing the building.

Lasun was said to have been attacked by unknown gunmen early hours on Monday after participating in the Channels television debate on the forthcoming election in the state on Sunday.

Fielding questions from newsmen at the house in Ilobu, Irepodun local government area of the state after the attack, the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, said the attack occurred shortly after waking to observe prayers around 1:30 am.

“We just started hearing gunshots sporadically, I quickly moved to one of my wife’s rooms to switch off the light inside so that people won’t know their people there because two of my children were in the room with her.“My security men were inside the compound fully prepared to repel them and were patrolling the compound for about ten minutes, I listened attentively from upstairs and I heard the sound of gun cocking but they could not access the building.

“Meanwhile, I have been receiving warnings about a likely attempt on my life from different persons. Someone had even confronted me and threatened me earlier in the run-off to this contest.

“I now discovered that subsequent upon the political debate for Governorship election on Sunday, it tuned up the fact that people of the state realised that those in government don’t even understand governance at all, so, what they did to be is beyond intimidation. The warnings I have been receiving is that they wanted to eliminate me”, he said.

Meanwhile, as the time journalists visited the house, sympathisers were seen around the house with security operatives attached to the Guber candidate on standby.

However, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, Mr Ismail Omipidan has called on the State Police Command and other security operatives to investigate the said attack on the Labour Party candidate to bring the culprit to justice.

He said Osun remain a peaceful state and the state government will do everything possible to ensure no one truncated the peace enjoy in the state before, during and after the election.

“We want security operatives to investigate the incident to identify and punish the culprit. We must not allow anyone to truncate the peace in the state for whatever reason.

“Issues like this should not be politicised and the security operatives should treat the issue with the urgency it demands”, he added.