From Bamigbola
Gbolagunte, Akure
At least four persons said to be members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday evening lost their lives, while several others suffered varying degree of injuries during a bloody clash among members of the party in Ondo, headquarters of Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The clash occurred after a meeting held at the party’s secretariat between two factions of the party in the town.
Coincidentally, the clash occurred on a day the people of the town were organizing a civic reception for the former governor of the state, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, who hails from the town.
Sunday Sun gathered that people suspected to be cultists hijacked the meeting and caused trouble which eventually led to killing and maiming of people.
It was gathered that the four deceased persons were suspected members of different cult groups who allegedly started the crisis.
Sunday Sun learnt that the decision of some party members at the meeting to prevent the return of some former members of the party who earlier defected to the Alliance for Democracy (AD), to its fold, reportedly led to the confrontation.
The clash was said to have started at the APC secretariat located at Yaba street in Ondo town and spread to different locations in the town, while corpses of the deceased were found at Odojomu street of the town.
Some residents of the street said one of the deceased whose corpse was found on the road wore APC ankara uniform which was used at the inauguration of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Femi Joseph confirmed the incident, saying that the command has commenced investigations on the matter.
He said: “It was a clear cult clash. The deceased were members of cult groups. We have begun investigations on the incident.”
Joseph also disclosed that the command had arrested two people in connection with the incident, adding that the suspects were still under interrogation to know their level of involvement in the matter.