My life is in danger for taking Adeleke to court – PDP member

A member of the People’s Democratic Party, Ojetade Kolawole, on Tuesday alleged a threat to his life for taking Ademola Adeleke, Osun’s PDP governorship candidate in the September 22 election, to court.

Kolawole alleged that the PDP South-West zone secretary, Reverend Bunmi Jenyo, coerced him at gunpoint to sign a withdrawal document in respect of a lawsuit filed against Adeleke.

Kolawole with two other members of the party, Awosiyan Kingsley and Awodire Peter, on October 30 approached a High court sitting in Osogbo, to file a lawsuit against Adeleke, PDP and the Independent Electoral Commission.

The plaintiffs said that the participation of Adeleke, and his return as the winner of the governorship primary conducted by the PDP on the 21st of July, 2018 for the purpose of him being the candidate of the party and his subsequent participation in the governorship election of the 22nd of September, 2018 as the party’s candidate, was null and void because he presented false information to the electoral commission.

The plaintiffs told the court to cause the defendant to respond to the suit within 21 days.

Addressing a press conference in Osogbo on Tuesday, Kolawole said that two PDP members, Kazeem Ogunsola, and Dele Onigbinde, lured him to a location where he met with Jenyo on Saturday.

According to him, “At a spot in Parakin, I met with a certain party chieftain known as Rev Bunmi Jenyo. After our exchange of pleasantries, I was asked to enter into a waiting vehicle with him and I did with a mindset that we were going to hold a meeting right there in the vehicle. Contrary to my expectation, Reverend Bunmi Jenyo told his driver to take off without my consent.”

Kolawole alleged that he was abducted after his repeated requests to know where he was being driven to yielded no response.

“I sought to know where we were going but nobody among the four men in the vehicle with me answered me,” he said.

He said after they arrived at an estate, “some documents” were handed to him for him to append his signature.

Kolawole said he reluctantly signed the document after he received a call from who “introduced himself as Senator Ademola Adeleke” and told him to cooperate with the people.

He also alleged that a “policeman who had a gun with him told me to sign for the sake of my life and those of my wife and children.”

When contacted on Wednesday to react to the allegations, Jenyo, in a press statement sent to The Guardian, described the allegations as “frivolous blackmailing and politically motivated accusations.”

Jenyo affirmed that he held a “peaceful meeting” with Kolawole and Ogunsola on Saturday.

He, however, mentioned he waded into the matter as instructed by Eddy Olafeso, the party South West Chairman, in order to settle the matter amicably out of court.

Jenyo said in a meeting held at a restaurant at Sekona, a place near Ademola’s hometown in Ede, Kolawole, after a lengthy discussion, “voluntarily agreed to withdraw from the case with immediate effect, in the interest of the Party.”

He said the documents Kolawole signed were “affidavit” prepared by a lawyer “Temitope Elusogbon, who prepared the affidavit on the telephone.”