The Bimbo Adekanmbi Campaign Organisation has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State and its governorship candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, of making unsubstantiated allegations linking supporters of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) to recent incidents of violence in Ibadan.
The campaign organisation warned that such accusations could heighten political tension, undermine security efforts and allow criminal acts to be misrepresented as politically motivated.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the organisation’s Deputy Director of Media and Publicity, Moses Alao, urged the APC and the Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) to exercise restraint and allow security agencies to investigate the incidents.
It also called on the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Oyo State Police Command to caution political parties against making sensational allegations without presenting supporting evidence.
The statement followed allegations that APM supporters were responsible for a series of violent incidents in the state, including reported attacks involving Accord Party members and the alleged killing of a man identified as Ridwan, popularly known as Paul Moore, in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area.
The Adekanmbi campaign organisation rejected the allegations, describing them as unsubstantiated and insisting that no credible evidence had been presented to establish the involvement of APM members.
“We condemn, without equivocation, the allegations that supporters of the APM are responsible for foisting violence in Oyo State in recent times, including alleged attacks on one of Senator Alli’s countless Baby Mamas, Hon Folake Osinowo-Olunloyo and the Accord Party,” the statement said.
The organisation also questioned the allegation linking APM members to Ridwan’s killing, arguing that the accusation was made without identifying any suspected perpetrator.
While expressing condolences to the deceased’s family, the campaign organisation urged political actors to avoid statements capable of inflaming tensions before investigations were concluded.
It warned that attributing criminal acts to political parties without evidence could complicate the work of security agencies by creating the impression that ordinary criminal activities were politically motivated.
“APC, SSACO and other political parties should allow the law enforcement agencies to do their jobs and should not assume that because they can buy bloggers and dictate the slant of their stories, then they have become the law,” the statement added.
The campaign organisation further accused the APC and Alli’s camp of repeatedly attempting to link Governor ‘Seyi Makinde and Adekanmbi to alleged acts of violence without substantiating the claims.
It maintained that the APM, Makinde and Adekanmbi were committed to peace and had no involvement in the incidents under investigation.
The organisation also referred to photographs and videos it claimed showed Accord Party supporters carrying axes around Molete, Ibadan, while describing themselves as victims of violence. It called on security agencies to investigate the various incidents and make their findings public.
The campaign team urged the APC and SSACO to exercise caution, refrain from spreading allegations it described as baseless, and allow law enforcement agencies to establish the facts.
It also appealed to residents to remain calm and avoid drawing conclusions about the incidents before investigations were completed.
The statement accused the APC of using allegations of violence as a political tactic ahead of the 2027 elections, but provided no independent evidence in the statement to substantiate that claim.
The APC and Alli’s campaign organisation’s responses to the latest accusations were not included in the statement.
