Ladi Adebutu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, has expressed concern that he may be killed while pursuing his case at the election petition tribunal.
Adebutu addressed a Conference of Political Parties in Abeokuta on the alleged death alert.
The PDP governorship candidate stated that he has been warned to be careful wherever he goes.
Adebutu stated that he had received intelligence that he should avoid crowded areas in the future because he might be killed.
Read Also: ‘Indiscipline by dissidents’ Ogun PDP boots out former guber candidate, Ladi Adebutu
An aide to Adebutu on media, Afolabi Orekoya confirmed the alleged death threat to Vanguard in a phone call.
Noting that he does not pray to die, Adebutu said he is confident that the mandate belongs to the PDP and the people, adding that it would be reclaimed even if he dies.
He said, “I’ve been warned that I should mind myself wherever I go, that I should not go to crowded areas because, maybe one day I will be killed.
“The truth of the matter is that it is a PDP mandate. I don’t pray to die, but it is a PDP mandate and it is the people’s mandate. I am sure it will be easy to reclaim even if they kill me.”
Adebutu further stated, “We are determined; if they want to kill us, it’s okay. They brought killers from Lagos to attack our candidate in Sagamu 2. Luckily, the man escaped through the balcony.”
He condemned alleged attacks on PDP members in the state, especially in Remo axis of the State, urging security agencies to stop turning blind eyes to the attacks on his supporters
Adebutu appealed to Ogun people not to allow anybody to make them prisoners in their own towns and villages, stating that “we are all Nigerians.”
He said, “If you continue to allow them to abuse your rights unabridged, you will become their prisoner. You must resist the abuses. I will not become a prisoner in Nigeria.
“They want to compel you to start hiding at home. I am not going to do that. I’m going to go everywhere,” he added.
Meanwhile, the PDP candidate stated that the party has approached the tribunal to seek redress and expressed confidence that he would win.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the March 18 gubernatorial election after he received 276,298 votes to Adebutu’s 262,383 votes.
Abiodun won the election by a margin of 13,915 votes.
However, the PDP claimed that INEC made the declaration because it failed to account for the number of cancelled votes, which the PDP claims is over 40,000.
Adebutu led his supporters in a peaceful protest to the INEC office in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, requesting that the process be reviewed.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
