A former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris; and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Lawal Daura, over an alleged plan to assassinate him.
Daniel, in the petition, accused a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Senator representing Ogun East, Senator Buruji Kashamu, of being behind the alleged plot.
Kashamu has, however, denied the allegation, accusing the former governor of having a sinister plot against him.
He said Daniel could be using the petition to cover up an alleged 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 said that the alleged marauders 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.”
The senator 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.
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