The Federal Government on Saturday deployed soldiers in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, following a bloody clash between members of the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Nigeria Peoples Party.
No fewer than 15 people including, the National Chairman of the ANPP, Chief Derin Adebiyi and the elder brother of the party�s governorship candidate in the state, Chief Abioye Amosun, sustained serious injuries. The conflict between supporters of the parties broke out on Friday evening and worsened on Saturday.
The ANPP candidate, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who was arrested at 10 am, on Saturday, was still being detained as at 5pm at Eleweran, the headquarters of the Ogun State Police Command.
The secretariat of the Abeokuta South of the PDP in the Ijaye area of the town was also vandalized.
At least, 10 vehicles and eight motor cycles were also destroyed in the premises of the secretariat.
Also vandalized were 10 vehicles belonging to Senator Amosun and the party�s senatorial candidate in Ogun Central, Dr. Lanre Tejuoso.
The violence, which started on Friday night, worsened at 11 am on Saturday when supporters of both parties, clashed at the Car Wash area of the state capital.
There were contradictory claims by the parties on the causes of the clash.
Amosun, at a news conference on Saturday, alleged that his supporters were attacked at a rally in Ijaye by the PDP members.
The candidate alleged that members of the party were also attacked while campaigning at Sagamu, Ijebu-Ode, Odogbolu, and Ado-Odo/Ota.
He said, �These attacks were always in the full glare of the police and the State Security Service operatives.�
But at another news conference, the PDP state Chairman, Chief Joju Fadairo, alleged that the ANPP supporters attacked the PDP members in Ijaye without provocation.
He said, �The Ijaye incident, which began in the afternoon of yesterday (Friday, March 9, 2007, was to say the least alarming to law-abiding citizens.
�The ANPP thugs were said to have invaded a PDP ward meeting at Ago-Ijesa, Ward 9, attacking innocent citizens and wounding three people.�
At 10 am on Saturday, at least 50 mobile policemen led by the state Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Dipo Ayeni, arrived at the residence of Amosun at the GRA area of the state, obviously to arrest him.
There was commotion in the area as Amosun refused to obey the police, who ordered him to enter one of their vehicles.
The candidate, together with his supporters, who insisted on accompanying him, decided to walk to the police headquarters, a distance of 20 kilometres from the house.
At the Car Wash area of the state capital, violence erupted when supporters of both parties engaged in a free-for-all.
During the clash, Amosun�s brother and the vice-chairman of the party received deep machete cuts.
The candidate, who was not hurt, later went to the police headquarters.
Apart from Ijaye and Car wash, supporters of both parties also clashed at Ijemo Agbadu and Ijeun Titun areas of Abeokuta.
At 2pm on Saturday, soldiers were seen parading major streets of the state capital.
They were also on all the major roads that led to the town.
At Ikereku village on Abeokuta-Sagamu Road and Ikereku village along the Sango-Abeokuta roads, the soldiers searched vehicles leaving and going to the town.
In a statement on Saturday, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Kayode Samuel, said the deployment of soldiers was a preventive measure.
He stated that it was not as a result of the incident in Abeokuta.
According to him, �The measure has become necessary because of the activities of hoodlums and miscreants operating under the aegis of a politician.�
While urging the people not to panic, Samuel said, �This is part of the confidence building initiative of the Federal Government to ensure peace reigns before, during and after the elections.�
Reacting to the incident, the state Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, decried the ugly development describing it as sad and unfortunate.