The Global Forum for Human Rights and Sustainable Development has alerted the public of a clandestine attempt by the incumbent Aare Ona Kakanfo, Aare Gani Adams to instigate some members of the Oodua Peoples Congress OPC, to begin a manhunt with the aim to assassinate its Executive Director, Prince Akanni Segun Olalekan and that of his family members.
In a press statement made available to newsmen and signed by the Director of Media and Publicity of the Non-Governmental, Non Profit-making Organisation, Dr. Stephen Ayankunle, Akanni who had been on the horns of dilemma moment after his disengagement from the service of the Yoruba generalissimo, Adams, December 2018, escaped yet another assassination attempt Wednesday night in a arranged mob attack, suspected to have been masterminded by the OPC boss.
Ayankunle said Akanni, the former Chief of Staff to Aare Gani Adams and the Chairman of The Prince Genesis Concept Nig Ltd, was again attacked yesterday at the Mobil Filling Station in Gbagada, Lagos by some OPC members on the instruction of Aare Gani Adams.
Akanni was attacked yesterday evening by over ten men of the OPC when he was at Gbagada to visit a friend, Alhaji Hakeem Keshinro.
The attack, we learnt, was masterminded by two of Aare Gani Adams’ men, Musa Yusuff, popularly known as Baba Alirat and Ade Bariga, ostensibly on the instruction of the boss.
Akanni has heard about their plans over a month ago. He had already called a popular monarch in Ondo State to inform him that Aare was telling some people that ”OPC are just taking their time before necessary action would be taken against him.
Meanwhile, the monarch assured Akanni that he would step in and that nothing would happen to him.
But yesterday’s attack was so deadly as it was carefully arranged to eliminate our boss, leaving an impression that he died in a mob attack if he had not foreseen the plot and took necessary precaution by taking to his heels to escape being lynched by the rampaging daredevil mob who chased him and was shouting: ‘thief’ thief’, when it was becoming obvious they could not catch up with him.
In the ensuing melee, Akanni had to defy fast speeding vehicles to cross the highway in a blind race before he was rescued by a police patrol team who later took him back to the scene of the incident to recover his car.
Akanni worked with the National Coordinator of the OPC, Adams, for 17 years as his Personal Assistant.
Earlier in his statement, Akanni had narrated how Aare Gani Adams levelled many frivolous and baseless allegations against him. He explained that his former boss lied against him that he was revealing his information and secrets to a frontline political leader in Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as well as instigating his wife against him.
Akanni was further alleged to have collected a sum of two hundred millions from Asiwaju Bola Tinubu alongside a popular Lagos based media practitioner, Chief Femi Davies.
Aare also alleged that Asiwaju Tinubu bought apartments for both Akanni and Davies in Nigeria and abroad.
The National Coordinator of OPC, Aare Gani Adams was also alleged to have accused Akanni of betraying him by conniving with some people who broke away from the OPC some years ago.
But Akanni, who is also the Publisher of The Drum Online, had denied all the allegations.
In his statement, Akanni had stated that the crisis started last year December 3rd, 2018, when he was edged out unceremoniously by Aare Gani Adams over trumped up offences after a seventeen years of painstaking working relationship with him and about twenty years in the Oodua People’s Congress as an active and committed member.
Chronicling Akanni’s experience since he was ousted by Adams, Ayankunle stated:
‘’Four days after he was edged out, precisely December 7th, 2018, he went out to see a friend in Ikeja. To his surprise, he met his house being scattered and ransacked by some unknown assailants. Luckily, his son, Ayomide Akanni, has gone out to lesson as at when the assailants came around while his younger brother was not also at home. His door was forcefully opened,’’ he stated.
‘’Akanni went to report the matter at Ibafo police station area of Ogun state, where he was advised not to go back home. The three of them had to stay away from his Magboro house and travelled to Osun State to seek refuge. A day after the ordeal, Akanni started receiving strange calls with unknown numbers – threatening to get rid of him, his son and his younger brothers living with him’’.
Narrating the ordeal further, he stated: that Akanni was in Osun State for some weeks, hoping that the matter when he returned to Lagos. But on January 4th, he suspected some strange movements of people on three motorcycles trailing him. He stopped his car at a petrol filling station to properly study the situation of things and decided to drive on some minutes after.
He put a call across to his son to open the gate of his house. And as he was approaching the gate, four men in Oodua People’s Congress’ white vests accosted his car , he was dragged out of the car as they descended on him. He was rough handled, threatening to behead him if they see him moving around again. His son had opportunity of taking their pictures.
The following morning, Akanni went to report the matter again in Ibafo police station. The officer in the police station promised to get them arrested through their investigation but all their efforts proved abortive.
Some days after, they started uploading Akanni’s pictures on Facebook – writing negative and fabricated stories against him on different social media platforms while also sending threatening messages into his Facebook inbox’.
From all indications, we are now more than certain that there is a deliberate and calculated plan to smear the character of our leader, Prince Akanni over trumped up allegations as leeway for a plan for to eliminating him.
It is based on this firm believe that we are sending a strong warning out that we know where to trace any untoward thing that happen to Prince Akanni to, as we pledge that we shall stop at nothing to keep being ahead of their evil plans while exposing them the more in their chosen desperate bid to terminate a innocent soul.
We are therefore calling on all the security apparatus in Nigeria to pick interest in this case to save the precious soul of Prince Akanni Segun Olalekan. Already, we have written to some international organizations, such as United Nations, Africa Union, Europe Union, to pick interest in the matter while we also call on our traditional rulers, Yoruba leaders, and all international media organizations to take note of these dastardly acts and do the needful.
However, the Deputy coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress(OPC) in Bariga Local Council Development Area,(LCDA), Adegoke Joseph, has refuted the report as untrue and accused the former COS of crying wolf, and looking for public sympathy.
Joseph, who said he had since last Thursday traveled to Asipa, his hometown in Ife, Osun state, for Eid-Fitri celebration, by the time the incident happened, said it was a ploy by Akanni to attract public sympathy since December when he was relieved of his position as Chief of staff to Aare Gani Adams, as a result of his various atrocities both within and outside the organisation.
According to Joseph, in his reaction said:
“Though, the police is investigating the matter,there is need for him to clear the air on the issue because of the personality involved”
He explained that report reaching him about the alleged attack was that Akanni had issues with a mechanic at Gbagada Filling station, where he went to fix his damaged car, but got into trouble with the mechanic over flimsy issue.
“I was surprised by the accusation linking me to the attack. I wouldn’t want to react to the allegation against my person, but for the name of Aareonakakanfo being dragged into the issue, I need to speak up because the issue has nothing to do with Aare Gani Adams.
“From what transpired in the video he sent that went viral, there was a rift between Akanni and the mechanic at the workshop, and the guy drove him out of the workshop. The mechanic chased him out of the workshop, with nothing in his hand. So how does that relate to an attempt to one’s life? The entire story was a ploy and attempt to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it. ”
Joseph stressed that there is need for the police to investigate the matter properly, saying the video clip that went viral in the social media and sent by the former aide to the media was doctored, arguing that in this age of social media, how can an assailant recorded an assassination attempt on his telephone, if it wasn’t preempted attack. This is far from the truth”.
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