Many people were injured, others robbed, while property worth millions of naira were destroyed when thugs suspected to be working for the All Progressive Congress (APC) attacked supporters of the Labour Party (LP) at Surulere, Lagos.
The thugs, who were armed with guns, broken bottles, daggers, matchetes, charms and other dangerous weapons, ambushed the LP supporters at Bode Thomas Junction.
A witness, Johnson Udoh, said the LP supporters ran into an eatery for cover, but the thugs who were shouting “no Labour Party, except APC, Sanwo-Olu for governor”, stormed the eatery where they attacked the LP supporters.
Udoh said: “We were beaten silly. Some people were stabbed. One person was shot. The thugs robbed many of us. They collected our phones, wristwatches, trinkets and other personal effects. The thugs also smashed the windshield of our campaign vehicles. They equally warned us not to come out on Saturday to vote for our candidate. One of them said what we witnessed today was a tip of the iceberg. He boasted that the police, army and other security agencies would not save us on Saturday. That is why we are appealing to the Inspector General of Police to prevail on Lagos State Commissioner of Police to do something about the threat on LP supporters by the APC thugs.”
There is a viral video of some LP supporters narrating their ordeals in the hands of APC thugs, who allegedly unleashed mayhem on them at the Surulere area of the state. A woman was seen shouting that her belongings, including her pair of reading glasses were stolen. She was shouting: “I can’t see anymore, my eyeglass lenses have been stolen by the thugs.”
Another woman believed to be working in the eatery was also shouting that their properties were destroyed. Another man was showing the vehicles that were touched by the thugs.
There was no official reaction from either of the APC or LP candidates, but some LP members have expressed fears that their lives were in danger, especially with many threats at LP supporters and non indigenes.
One Mark Okelue said: “The threat to non indigenes and Labour Party supporters is to intimidate us not to come out to vote; by this, we will be disenfranchised. But we must come out to vote. We also learned that some traditional rulers have threatened to deal with non indigenes who come out to vote against the incumbent governor. They have even threatened to unleash their traditional masquerade (Oro) on us.”
When contacted, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that there was an attack on the LP supporters, but said he could not pin the hoodlums to any party.
He said: “There was an attack on LP supporters, but we cannot pin the attack on any party. One person was injured and one tricycle belonging to the hoodlums, which they abandoned when the police responded to a distress call, was impounded. The Labour Party has officially reported the attack, and the police are investigating the incident.”
