Former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has cried out over
fear of being assassinated. He has petitioned the Inspector-General of
Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris; and the Director-General of the Department of
State Services, Mr. Lawal Daura.
In the petition, Daniel accused a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic
Party and the Senator representing Ogun East, Senator Buruji Kashamu, of
being behind the alleged plot.
Kashamu on his part has, however,
denied the allegation, accusing the former governor of having a
sinister plot against him. He added it was Daniel’s plan to steer
everyone’s attention from his plan to later attack him.
Daniel in
the petition, titled, “Assassination Attempt on my Person; Main
Suspect, Senator Buruji Kashamu,” said that five hefty men, two of whom
were in military uniforms and three others in black clothes, were at his
residence in Maitama, Abuja on Thursday around 9:13 pm, and asked that
the gate be opened for them.
The petition read in part, “The
gatekeeper peeped through the pedestrian gate, asking for their
identities and mission, they refused to wind down their car window. The
gatekeeper then opened the pedestrian gate to continue with his
enquiries.
“They asked for his boss ‘OGD’ (the acronym for my
full name, Otunba Gbenga Daniel) and he told them that I was not at
home. The five men instantly alighted from the car and pushed the
gatekeeper inside the compound. They started beating him, saying he was
lying and that they had information that I was at home.
“They
thereafter asked him how many policemen were in the house and he told
them that there were five. They asked him to show them where the
policemen were. He led them to the Boys’ Quarters, where they found one
of the policemen lying down. Then they asked for his service gun.
“He
told them that it was not with him, then they pushed him inside the
toilet and locked the door. They returned to the gatekeeper and told him
to start showing them round the house, and where the other policemen
were. They insisted that they had accurate information that ‘OGD’ was in
Abuja and at home.”
He continued saying the men were armed with
pistols or shotguns, while one of them, who allegedly had a bigger gun,
stood at the gate to watch as the operation continued.
He also
alleged that Kashamu was the number one suspect in the alleged plan to
kill him, adding that those sent to kill him were not aware that he had
left Abuja for Ibadan to attend a political meeting.
He said the
petition was written to alert the “the police authorities about the evil
intention of Senator Buruji Kashamu” and to request for additional
security protection.
“I want to inform the Nigeria Police and
security agencies that they should put Buruji Kashamu on security watch
list and under strict surveillance.”
Kashamu, however, told our correspondent that Daniel was lying, saying he had never been involved in violence in his life.
He
said, “I have never been involved in any violence. It is Daniel who is
into violence. He is merely playing politics, and his actions are
because of Ogun and South-West politics and the PDP.
“I was aware
that he was at Ibadan with the Chairman of the PDP National Caretaker
Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, while I was in my office in Lagos. He
knows my house and we have been to each other’s houses on many
occasions.
“The petition is all lies. It doesn’t make sense at
all. I hope he’s not planning to attack and kill me. He could be using
this as an opportunity to kill me. I can’t kill or be involved in any
crisis, but I can only use the courts to protect myself. Daniel knows
this.”
Kasumu, has now called on the security agencies to investigate
the claim by the former governor, adding that at the end of the day,
the truth would prevail.
