One person was injured by a stray bullet when supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) clashed in Port Harcourt on Monday. Earlier that day, PDP members had gathered in front of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office on Aba Road, demanding a joint inspection of election materials by all political parties.
The APC, led by its governorship candidate Tonye Cole, had announced on Friday that it would storm the INEC office on Monday to demand the release of Certified True Copies of documents used in the March 18 governorship election, so the party could file processes at the election petition tribunal. While the PDP protest was ongoing, Cole, accompanied by the state APC chairman Emeka Beke and other party leaders, arrived in the GRA area of Aba Road and began moving toward the INEC office. Protesters confronted him, hurling stones and water sachets. Security operatives attached to Cole shielded him and quickly got him into a vehicle, but the protesters continued to throw sachets.
Within minutes, soldiers from the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, police officers, and members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps arrived and fired shots into the air to disperse the crowd. An eyewitness told our correspondent that one of Cole’s security men fired a shot that struck a protester advancing toward him. The man suffered a severe leg wound, bled profusely, and was carried by friends to a hospital.
Sensing that PDP supporters outnumbered them, Cole’s security team withdrew him from the scene, while APC supporters fled for safety. At the time of this report, the GRA junction near the INC office remained a flashpoint, with anti‑riot police, soldiers, and NSCDC officers deployed in a show of force to prevent further unrest.
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