A building said to belonged to a former political aspirant, one Mr. Ogunlesi Azeez in Osun state, has been set ablaze by suspected armed political thugs, even as some of the occupants of the building were injured.

The building, which is located at No. 47, Ona Ara street, off Ago Iwoye road, Ilisan, Remo, in Ogun State, is a family house of the said former aspirant, who was contesting for the office of a Counselor during the 2015 local government election in the state.

Speaking on the ground of anonymity to newsmen, some occupants of the building said that, the incident actually took place on March 20, 2019. They said that, by the virtue of the incident, they have been rendered homeless, saying that, the building was the only house owned by the entire family.

“The armed men kept saying unless we provided Azeez, nobody in our family would be safe. Eventually, they decided to burn down the building, everyone had to run for their lives. An old woman was seriously injured during the incident”, one of the occupants has said.

Another eye witness noted that Azeez, is a strong member of one of Nigeria’s top political parties, maintaining that Azeez is a well-known politician in the area, who was to contest for the post of a Councilor at the ward level.

“Everybody thought he was going to be the party candidate during the 2015 election due to his popularity but nobody knew why he stepped down for another candidate. He has been running for his life ever since he declared intentions to run for councillorship election,”  he said.

An anonymous witness has also noted that some diabolic top members of the party in the area have been after Azeez’s life because, according to the witness, he (Azeez) has refused to swear allegiance to them, saying Azeez did not want them to sponsor his political candidature.

“Since then they have been after his life because he is privy to some of their top secrets. We know the political godfathers in Nigeria are no news; they bankroll political candidates so they can influence the decision made, while politicians remain figureheads. We believe his life is in danger because of what he knows about these godfathers. Burning down his family house shows the extent they are willing to go to find him,” an eye witness revealed.

Source: Punch