Suspected APC members attack court bailiff

Hoodlums, suspected to be members of the All Progressives Congress, on Tuesday assaulted a court bailiff in Iperu, Ikenne local government of Ogun State.

The hoodlums descended on the bailiff while the official was trying to serve a court summon on some leaders and a councillorship candidate of the APC in the community.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that a councillorship aspirant, Muyiwa Osularu, had dragged the Vice Chairman, Caretaker Committee of Ikenne Local Government, Olaitan Efuwape, the APC, and the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) to a High Court in Sagamu over allegations of substitution of his name.

According to Mr Osularu, after winning the primary election conducted by the party on May 20, 2021, in Iperu Ward 5, his name was substituted for Mr Efuwape, by the party leadership.

The aspirant urged the court to order the APC to forward his name to the electoral umpire as the APC councillorship candidate in Ward 5, Iperu Remo.

Upon his prayers, the court bailiff was said to have arrived Iperu with the court summons to serve same on the respondents.

He was, however, unlucky as he was physically assaulted by some yet-to-be-identified APC members loyal to the respondents.

The court bailiff sustained injuries from the attack before he was rescued.

“A court bailiff, who was supposed to serve a summon against the substitution of a councillorship candidate, was beaten to a pulp by thugs alleged to belong to the camp of Governor Dapo Abiodun,” a witness, who did not want to be named, told PREMIUM TIMES.

“This scene occurred at Iperu area of Ogun State. He could have been killed, but was rescued by some good citizens of Ogun State.”

Confirming the incident to PREMIUM TIMES, Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the victim was attacked, adding that no one has yet been arrested in connection to the incident.

“The bailiff went to a place where APC members were having their campaign rally to serve the court summon on someone. I think the APC candidate is the person he wanted to serve summon on, at the venue of the rally,” the spokesperson told PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday morning.

“I guess that’s what infuriated the party members who assaulted him. He has reported the case at Iperu division and the case is under investigation. The case has been ‘incidented’ and the police are investigating it.

“No arrest has been made yet because there is no way the police can go to where the rally was going on to effect an arrest. We have to wait, when they finish their rally, we are going to invite those who were involved in the assault case.”