Scores injured, materials destroyed in Lagos APC LGA/LCDA primaries

Etim Ekpimah

Many people were injured in the 2021 All Progressives Congress (APC) Local Government Areas/Local Council Development Areas primaries in Lagos State.

In Wards ‘F’, ‘C’, ‘D’, ‘E’, among others in the areas witnessed a high level of violence as bullets were fired continuously.

Rashidat Ogunlana, presiding officer in Ward ‘E’ at Ijomosu Primary School within Anibaba area of Ikorodu, said she escaped being killed by providence.

According to her, the trouble started when she was asked to choose five people for each of the candidates. She added that her disagreement degenerated into chaos which almost caused her life.

She said: “We were asked to choose five people who will vote from each of the candidate. I did not agree but asked them to wait and allow me to call our leaders to decide.

“I called our party chairman in Ikorodu in the person of Hon. Taiwo Alonge who asked me not to accept it and asked them to hold on for him.

“Fortunately, he came and told them that if they wanted five people from each of the candidates, all the councillors on both sides must write it down to prevent him from being blackmailed.

“As they were writing it, one of them started a fight which the others joined. They started hurling stones, bottles on us; they were also shooting. It was on that process I asked one of the police officers at the election venue to rescue me since my life was not safe.

“The woman declined saying that she herself might be wounded on the process. So, one of the people around asked me to leave the place quickly if I wanted to be alive.”

She added that it was at that time that she jumped over a fence to the adjoining building, where she asked for cover.

“As I entered the room, my spirit asked me to leave the room immediately. I jumped over another fence into another building where the men came and started asking for the lady who had entered the house.

“I left the building and found myself at Osikoya Street where the shooting was fierce. As soon as they sighted me, they started pursuing me until they captured me and struggled with me over the voting materials which were with me.

“They overpowered me and collected the materials which they destroyed,” she said.

And at Ward ‘F’ fighting started around 12.30 pm when voting was ongoing.

The voters said the fight was allegedly initiated by men loyal to the incumbent chairman, Mr Wasiu Adesina, who could not find their names in the registrar.

The Ward ‘F’ chairman, Chief Okuku Olalekan, said several voters from his ward were wounded.

He stated that a party member simply identified as Segun was hospitalised while his two I phones were forcefully taking away by the thugs.

He added that the whereabouts of one Mr Sokunbi, a presiding officer, could not be traced.

A victim of the violent, Abdusalami Olorunwa, said he sustained leg injuries when his ward was violently attacked by the suspected thugs.

A victim, who spoke on condition of anonymity said, she was assaulted by the men as they tried to seize her mobile phone for making videos.

The incumbent chairman, who hails from Ward ‘C’ said the Ikorodu people had confidence in his leadership and that was the reason why they were poised to return him for a second term in office.

He added the process became a surprise to him when names of his supporters were removed from the membership register.

He said: “My supporter names were removed from membership register. One thing they can’t deny is about what we have done in Ikorodu, and that was why the people came out en-masse to vote for Hon. Wasiu Adesina for a second term in office.

“In the ward, that is Ward ‘C’, the name of my wife is not there; one of the apex leader names was not found on that list.

“I’m pained that the elections have been cancelled.”

However, the turnover was impressive as voters started voting as early as 10 am.