The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Osun State has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC in the state of using police to intimidate and arrest its members ahead of the July 16 governorship election.

Addressing journalists at the party secretariat in Osogbo during the weekend, PDP Caretaker Chairman, Dr Akindele Adekunle, said the APC has led police to invade homes of some members of the party and arrested them without just course.

“Reports reaching the state secretariat of our great party, the PDP, especially in the last two days confirmed that Remi Omowaye, a serving Commissioner in the government of Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola has been taking police operatives to private homes of PDP members in some local governments in the state to forcefully arrest them without any just cause.

“Specifically, police were reported to have invaded private homes of innocent members of our party in Ijebu-jesha and Eti Oni in Oriade and Atakumosa East local governments respectively, effecting forceful arrest of our members and inflicting on them bodily harms, even without any warrant of arrest.

“More worrisome is the fact that the police chose the dead of the night to invade citizens’ homes, embarking on sporadic gunshots, and thereby subjecting the victims and their relatives to unnecessary psychological trauma. This is the height of abuse of office by the cabinet member of Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola’s government and acutely unprofessional on the part of the police for making themselves available for unjust harassment of citizens they are being paid to protect”, Dr Akindele said.

Reacting to the claims, Osun APC’s Director of Media and Publicity, Wole Adunola said the PDP is being clever by half, pushing their self created misfortune on other parties.

“First Remi Omowaye is not working with the police neither is he an intelligence officer and will not put his life at risk going to thugs, wielding gun in their homes at night. So, they should tell the world how their thugs disrupted PVC distribution in Ilesa and suburbs.

“Our party will not join them in mud fight. We are focused on the goal, which is winning July 16 poll free and fair. Our advice to them is to rein in their members to stop causing violence in the build up to the poll,” he said.