Supporters at the venue of Tinubu Abuja rally
The Lagos mega rally organised by the Presidential Campaign Council of the Labour Party for its flagbearer and former Anambra governor, Peter Obi, on Saturday was marred by violence, Sunday reports. Several supporters of the candidate told our correspondents that they were attacked by hoodlums on their way to Tafawa Balewa Square, the venue of the rally.
The state Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Mr Seye Oladejo, denied the party’s involvement in the attacks. In a statement made available to Sunday he said, “It is irresponsible and reckless of the tottering party to level such a wild allegation without any substantial proof. The APC, as the ruling party in Lagos State, remains the biggest stakeholder to ensure that there’s no breakdown of law and order.”
The Lagos State Police Command, through its spokesman SP Benjamin Hundeyin, earlier said that only four persons were injured by some hoodlums suspected to be from opposition parties. However, a staunch Obi supporter, Ayansola Dare, claimed on Twitter that the number was higher, raising the alarm about hoodlums attacking LP supporters outside the campaign venue.
Our correspondent observed more than a dozen young men covered in blood receiving treatment from a paramedical team on the ground. They had been attacked by masked miscreants who inflicted varying injuries. One victim, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation, recounted: “As I stepped out of my house around Iyana‑Oworo and stopped at Obalende, where I would take another bus to the venue, some men from nowhere wielding sticks and stones attacked me and my friends. They kept asking us, ‘What has Obi done for you?’, ‘You are in Lagos and you are supporting Obi?’ It took the intervention of policemen around the Access Bank area to calm things down, but that was after they had inflicted injuries with their sticks. One of my friends was severely injured in his head and has been taken to the clinic for treatment.”
Another supporter, who also spoke anonymously, said she was attacked by a group of men around the Ajah area. She reported a bloody cut on her left hand and alleged that men with red cloth tied across their heads vandalised her car and broke the windscreen. A Twitter user, @JaypeeGeneral, shared a graphic video showing LP supporters being attended to by the standby medical team.
Bus driver Daniel Etim, speaking to our correspondent at TBS, confirmed that on his way from Ajah to the rally venue, some hoodlums with sticks and stones attacked the LP supporters in his bus.
In response, Obi condemned the attacks on his supporters and called on security agencies to protect citizens’ fundamental human rights. “As we go into the final stretch for the 2023 elections, I call on all Nigerians, regardless of political affiliation or tendency, to eschew violence. I condemn any form of violence and political thuggery, and especially the incessant attacks on my Obidient supporters,” he wrote in a Saturday tweet.
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