Kehinde Akinrotoye, a commissioner in the Ondo State Oil Development Area Development Commission (OSOPADEC), was beaten to a pulp on Wednesday and narrowly escaped when suspected hoodlums invaded the office located in the Oba Ile area of Akure, disrupting an award and scholarship ceremony organised by the commission.

The Peoples Gazette learned that a Sienna vehicle, which transported Mr Akinrotoye to the office, was vandalised by the hoodlums numbering more than twenty, who forcefully entered the commission’s premises with guns and other dangerous weapons.

A source, who was at the scene of the incident but pleaded anonymity, said the hoodlums invaded the commission’s office, began shooting into the air, and prevented the award event from taking place.

He revealed that the situation led to a melee as both the commission’s staff and invited undergraduate students for the ceremony scrambled for safety.

“The beneficiaries of the bursary and scholarship award were already seated when the hoodlums barged in and shot sporadically into the air, causing pandemonium on the premises.

“The security officers attached to the office even had a hectic time curtailing the activities of the hoodlums and had to close the gate leading to the office to prevent further entry and disruption in the commission.

“One of the bosses (Akinrotoye) was caught in the melee and was beaten and injured, while his vehicle was also damaged alongside other vehicles in the compound,” the source added.

The Gazette gathered that it took the intervention of officers drafted from the Ondo State Police Command to restore normalcy to the commission after the disruption.

It was further gathered that Mr Akinrotoye, politically known as ‘BonsueAketi,’ was beaten by the hoodlums, as his appointment to the commission was questionable.

An impeccable source who spoke said Mr Akinrotoye’s appointment to the commission was “political” as he’s not from the mandate area of the intervention agency; rather, he’s from Ondo town.

All efforts to get the victim’s reaction proved abortive.

Also, sources claimed he was immediately rushed to the hospital after the beating.

When contacted for a reaction, the chairman of the commission, Sam Erejuwa, referred our reporter to the police for comments.

However, in her reaction, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, a police spokeswoman in Ondo, said the police had launched an investigation into the case, adding that the hoodlums have been declared wanted by the security agents.