Oni-Osun on the hospital bed
For
Morufu Oni-Osun, a commercial motorcyclist from Erin-Ile community of
Oyun Local Government Area, Kwara State, his survival after brutal
attacks by hoodlums left him in a 20-hour coma remains a mystery.
Oni-Osun, who spoke from his hospital bed
on Wednesday said he was conveying a passenger on Sunday when some
hoodlums in Offa saw a sticker on his motorcycle which identified him as
a native of Erin-Ile.
He said the hoodlums brutally attacked him and they thereafter dumped him on the outskirts of Offa, thinking he was dead.
He sustained serious injuries and only regained consciousness on Monday morning.
He said, “I realised that I was dumped on the outskirts of the town. My assailants thought I was dead.
“With the multiple injuries I sustained, I
struggled through the bush and found my way to Unity Road between Offa
and Erin-Ile. I was staggering when a Good Samaritan in company with a
military
personnel came to my aid and took me to a hospital in Erin-Ile on Monday.”
The National Vice- President, Erin Ile
Progressive Union, Mr. Simeon Agboola, appealed to the government and
security agencies to come to their aid.
Agboola, who corroborated the victim’s story, alleged that people moving from Erin-Ile through Offa were no longer safe.
He added that they were finding it difficult to make business transactions in Offa.
Agboola said, “We only want peace and
nothing more than that. After he was attacked by the hoodlums, he was
dumped on the outskirts of the town thinking he was dead.
“We cannot move along any road in Offa
community now. Even our monarch, Oba Abdulganiyu Olusokun, passes
through another route to attend a peace meeting with Governor, Alhaji
Abdulfatah Ahmed.
“We strongly appeal to the government to
also find solution to the ordeals of students and staff of both Federal
Polytechnic and College of Health Technology, Offa.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr.
Olufemi Fabode, in a telephone interview with our correspondent on
Wednesday, said he had not been briefed of the attack.
“I have no such report with me. But I will make necessary enquiries,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau
Gbadamosi, said dialogue was the best option to resolve disputes,
stressing that there was no need for communities to engage in violence.
Gbadamosi spoke when the Senior Special
Assistant to the President on Youth and Students’ Matters, Mr. Jude
Imagwue, visited him.
Gbadamosi said, “Trouble can never solve any of our problems. We will still come and discuss.
“On the day of last violence, l advised
our youths not to carry out any reprisal. Today, they are reaping the
fruits of their labour because those that perpetrated the violence are
the ones suffering in
silence. If it were in some communities,
the crisis would have degenerated but we were able to talk to our youths
to exercise restraint as Offa believes in development.
“We in Offa also believe that without
peace there won’t be any development. We believe that our leaders should
be there planning how to grow the state and the country and not how to
settle disputes. As a royal father, I believe one of my primary
assignments is to maintain peace in my domain. The youth and students of
Offa all believe in what I believe in.”
PUNCH
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