President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was reportedly furious over the deadly violence that engulfed the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, prompting Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s urgent trip to Abuja.
Sources within the state government said the Presidency relied on security reports detailing the scale of the attacks and demanded explanations over how a routine ward congress spiralled into bloodshed in a state firmly controlled by the ruling party.
The crisis began on Tuesday when thugs believed to be members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers stormed the party’s secretariat in Akure and disrupted a stakeholders’ meeting. The state APC chairman, Ade Adetimehin, was reportedly beaten and dragged on the ground, while several chieftains were attacked with dangerous weapons.
Among those injured were Success Torukerijoh, a former member of the Ondo State House of Assembly, and Dayo Akinsuroju, immediate past chairman of Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo/Odigbo Local Government. Both were said to be in critical condition.
The violence escalated on Wednesday in Idanre, hometown of the party chairman.
Raphael Adetimehin, the younger brother of the APC chairman, was reportedly hacked with machetes, attacked with axes and stabbed multiple times after being mistaken for him. His vehicle was set ablaze. He was left unconscious after the attackers assumed he was dead and remains in coma.
“My brother was attacked because we resemble each other very well,” Adetimehin said. “After shooting and stabbing him, they left him when they thought he was dead. I don’t know why we are taking politics to this extent.”
While initial reports suggested four fatalities, the Ondo State Police Command confirmed two deaths. Police spokesperson Abayomi Jimoh said investigations were ongoing.
The governor had earlier called on the police to investigate. However, political tension deepened after Aiyedatiwa abruptly cancelled activities lined up to mark his first year in office popularly referred to as the “Isaiah” anniversary and travelled to Abuja on Thursday evening.
A source close to the administration said the President “wanted to know what went wrong” despite the absence of a strong opposition presence in the state.
However, the Ondo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Idowu Ajanaku, denied that the governor was formally summoned, insisting the Abuja trip was for unrelated official matters. It remains unclear whether the governor met the President before returning to the state.
The crisis has now exposed deep fractures within the ruling party in Ondo, raising fresh concerns about internal control and the stability of its political structure.
