Several persons, including a serving senator, traders, pupils, voters, journalists and others, fled for dear life today as pandemonium broke out following gunshots by suspected political thugs in some wards of Ondo Central Senatorial District on Nigeria’s South-West zone.
The scary development occurred during the senatorial primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) when the suspected thugs invaded the venues.
Reports said they were suspected to be loyal to one of the aspirants in the district.
At Ward 5 Okelisa, Amudipe Street, Akure, the Ondo state capital, they reportedly attacked supporters of the senator representing the district, Adeniyi Adegbomire.
Adegbomire, who is also seeking the ticket of the party, escaped from the scene as his vehicle was shot at by the thugs.
The thugs reportedly shot sporadically into the air and at the senator’s vehicle, but he narrowly escaped possible death as his security details spirited him away from the chaotic scene.
Journalists covering the exercise, pupils of nearby Ebenezer Primary School, and traders within the vicinity, were forced to scamper for safety as gunshots filled the air.
The assailants, also wielding machetes, attacked voters and disrupted the counting processes at the ward.
Speaking to journalists, an obviously rattled Sen. Adegbomire alleged deliberate sabotage of the exercise.
Claiming that the voting process was already favouring him, he alleged that the thugs were deployed to prevent more of his supporters from accessing the wards.
He reportedly said: “It’s a charade, it is a complete charade. I went to my ward, Okilisa Ward 5, Akure South Local Government today. Today is the Senate primaries for the APC. I was there.
“And whilst we were there, they told everybody to line up and they started counting.
“They counted my supporters who were voting for me. It was about 360.
“They started counting that of Taiwo Fasoranti because there were three lines. Mine was in the middle.
“Taiwo Fasoranti’s own was to the right. Adu’s own was to the left.
“Then they started counting Taiwo Fasoranti’s own. When it was glaring to them that I think it got about a hundred and something – thugs came and invaded the place, shot in the air, shot at my car. I can show you the bullet mark.
“They started trying to machete people; beating people up. They disrupted the entire process.
“Now, that is not even bad enough, I am getting reports from all over the senatorial district that the same thing is happening. And that they are not allowing my supporters to even get onto the field.
“They are saying that ‘if you are not going to vote for Fasoranti, go back to your house’. They have hired thugs to intimidate people.”
There were no immediate reactions from the police or other contestants.
