By Our Reporter
Tension gripped Ijebu-Ode, headquarters of Ijebu-Ode Local Government Area, on Wednesday morning as dozens of heavily armed police operatives allegedly stormed the Obanta Club area and cordoned off the residence of former Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel, in the Government Reserved Area (GRA), disrupting a planned meeting of his supporters.
An Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) was also deployed to the scene, reinforcing the heavy security presence.
Sources said the operatives allegedly disrupted a scheduled BATOGD Community Assessment and Review rally. However, there was no immediate official response from the police regarding the said deployment around Senator Daniel’s residence.
BATOGD—Bola Ahmed Tinubu–Otunba Gbenga Daniel Movement—is a grassroots political platform drumming support for President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid in 2027 and Daniel’s return to the Senate in 2027.
One of the aides of the former governor, who currently represents Ogun East Senatorial District in the 10th Senate, while responding to inquiry from The Daily Crucible said that security operatives allegedly blocked access to Daniel’s residence, preventing members of the BATOGD group from holding their meeting.
“Police stormed Obanta Club and blockaded OGD’s house to stop access to the venue of the planned BATOGD Community Assessment and Review Tour in Ijebu-Ode on Wednesday, April 22, 2026,” the aide said.
The programme, organised under the Gateway Front Foundation, an initiative of Senator Daniel, as was the case in the past is used always to empower constituents.
No fewer than10,000 beneficiaries across the senatorial district were expected to benefit from the planned programme today but the alleged presence of the fierce looking security operatives botched the plan.
Sources said participants and organisers were left distraught as they couldn’t access the venue due to the blockade.
The development has further heightened the protracted political feud between Daniel and his successor, Governor Dapo Abiodun.
Days earlier, tensions escalated within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun East when Daniel was denied entry to a senatorial stakeholders’ meeting in Ijebu-Ode.
Daniel had arrived at the venue—Adeola Odutola Hall—but was stopped at the gate. The meeting, considered pivotal for deciding the party’s senatorial ticket, turned rowdy as the former governor made unsuccessful attempts to gain entry.
Governor Abiodun, who is also reportedly eyeing the Ogun East Senate seat under the APC platform, was said to have been controversially endorsed during the meeting as the party’s consensus candidate—an outcome believed to have deepened the rift between the two former allies.
Earlier this year, Daniel accused Abiodun of using state power to “persecute” him, including orchestrating his controversial suspension from the party through the APC state executive.
A video circulating on Facebook on Monday this week showed the moment Daniel’s convoy was blocked, with supporters pleading for him to be granted access to the meeting.
Addressing supporters at the gate over the political bullying, a visibly frustrated Daniel said he had arrived as early as 10:00 a.m. but was barred from entering.
“Today is our caucus meeting in Ijebu-Ode. I arrived early, but they told me I cannot go in,” he said. “If any decisions are taken here without my participation, they will not stand. Let them carry on.”
When contacted this morning, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, said he would comment after obtaining full details of the incident.
