The Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, has raised the alarm that he might be killed in the pursuit of his case at the election petition tribunal.
Adebutu spoke on the alleged death alert while addressing a Conference of Political Parties in Abeokuta.
The PDP governorship candidate said he had been warned to mind himself wherever he goes.
Adebutu said he had intelligence that he should, henceforth, avoid crowded areas, because he might be killed one day.
An aide to Adebutu on media, Afolabi Orekoya confirmed the alleged death threat to our correspondent 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 said the party has approached the tribunal to seek redress, expressing confidence that he would win at the tribunal.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared that Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the March 18 gubernatorial election after scoring 276,298 votes to beat Adebutu, who polled 262,383 votes.
Abiodun won the election with a total of 13,915 votes margin.
But, the PDP claimed that INEC made the declaration, because it failed to take into account the number of cancelled votes, which according to the PDP are more than 40,000.
A few days after the election, Adebutu led his supporters in a peaceful protest to the INEC office in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, asking the commission to review the process.