Between Wednesday and Thursday, no fewer than 20 people were injured and 15 vehicles destroyed in Ibadan and five students of School of Health Technology, Ijero-Ekiti, were kidnapped in Ekiti State, while sporadic shooting by suspected armed thugs marred a Labour Party rally in Bayelsa State.
This is just as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, doubted whether the elections will hold on schedule, giving the spate of the violence and thuggery by party supporters.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has also threatened to direct its members to stay away from work in states where political violence is the order of the day.
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Oyo State alleged that some members of the proscribed National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state, led by Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi, also known as Auxiliary, shot at the convey of its governorship candidate, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, at Gate market in the Ibadan North Local Government Area, while returning from a campaign rally on Wednesday.
But, Alhaji Lamidi described the allegation as untrue, saying that it was thugs loyal to the ACN and led by Alhaji Abdulateef Akinsola, also known as Tokyo, that attacked him and his boys.
A chieftain of the ACN in Oyo State, Mr Olu Idowu, speaking with newsmen in Ibadan on Thursday, alleged that “the hoodlums were chanting war songs before they carried out the act.”
According to him, the convoy was returning from a political rally at Moniya, headquarters of the council, where hundreds of Accord Party and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members had defected to the ACN.
He further explained that the governorship candidate and other chieftains of the party had passed before the NURTW men attacked the remaining 22 buses loaded with youths and women.
Speaking on the attack, the state secretary of the party, Mr Wasiu Olatunbosun, in a telephone interview, described the incident as an unprovoked attack, in which the members of Senator Ajimobi’s entourage were seriously assaulted and wounded by the NURTW members.
He lamented the series of attacks on ACN in recent times, saying that no amount of attack would distract the electorate from voting for the party in the state and the party from moving on with its peaceful campaign rallies.
Reacting to the incident, the PDP Director of Publicity and Communications, Mr Morohunkola Thomas, refuted the allegation that the PDP sponsored people to attack the ACN, describing the statement as mischievous and frivolous.
He challenged the ACN to report the incident to security agencies for investigation and arrest of whoever was responsible for the attack.
He warned opposition parties to desist from rumour and blackmail of the ruling party in the state.
Thomas maintained that nothing would deter the PDP from winning the forthcoming general election, saying that while the opposition parties engaged in false accusation, the ruling party was busy with its statewide campaigns and waiting for the electorate to judge.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the state command, Mr Olatunji Ajimuda, said the police had arrested four suspects allegedly involved in the attack.
In Ekiti, sources said the traditional ruler of the town where the students were kidnapped, the Ajero of Ijero-Ekiti, Oba Joseph Adewole, had organised a search party to work in conjunction with the police and other security agents, to look for the missing students.
There were conflicting reports about the sex of the students who were abducted in their private hostel around 11.30 p.m. on Wednesday. While some said they were all females, others claimed there was a male student among them.
The Rector of the school, Dr Francis Ibikunle, told newsmen by telephone that the students had been freed, but added that the students were traumatised.
Dr Ibikunle, who said the students were in stable condition and were receiving medical attention, thanked the police and the community, as well as the monarch for coming to the assistance of the school.
However, sources said the students were rescued on Ara-Awo road, alleging that they were drugged as some of them were still speechless as of press time.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Ekiti State, Mr Mohammed Jimoh, confirmed the incident and said that the police in the state would get to the root of the incident to forestall a reoccurrence.
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