Like a war scene, continuous gun report tore through the air
in the Ebute Meta area of Lagos State on Tuesday afternoon.
As residents ran helter-skelter in the ensuing confusion,
four youths were shot dead, while several others were wounded, as 20 vehicles
were also vandalized on four streets, namely Kano, Ondo, Odunfa and Ibadan.it was gathered that the crisis was the aftermath
of a primary election conducted for two candidates of the All Progressives
Congress ─ Oladele Adekanye (Lado) and Bashiru Oloto.
The two men were aspiring to get the APC ticket to represent
the Lagos Mainland Constituency one in the 2015 elections,the primary was won by Lado, a
former council chairman.
Punch gathered that immediately the results were
announced, more than 100 hoodlums from Apapa Road, who wielded guns, among
other weapons, trooped into the streets to create mayhem.Punch correspondent counted four damaged vehicles on Kano
Street, three on Ibadan Street, seven on Odunfa Street and six on Ondo Street.Those who were shot and cut with machetes were said to have
been evacuated.A resident, who pleaded anonymity, said one person was shot
on Simpson Street, two died on Lagos Street, while one was killed on Ibadan
Street.He said,
“The boys are from Apapa Road. They cannot be less
than 100 because they were many and had double-barreled guns, cutlasses and
others. They shot sporadically into the air and attacked people.“Apart from the four persons that were shot dead, many more
were seriously injured and were rushed to hospitals.”A trader on Kano Street, Tolulope Salaam, said the gang
carted away all her wares which she estimated at N60, 000.At the Kano junction, handsets and other products on display
were reportedly carted away by the rampaging hoodlums.When our correspondent visited Ibadan Street, where the
primary election took place, he observed that the road was deserted.A mechanic in the area, Musbau Agbogun, wondered how the
security agencies could not repel the attack.He said, “I have been seeing them patrolling the area.
I
also saw men of the Department of State Service and policemen from Denton
division moving round. Despite that, innocent lives were wasted. If this can
happen in the party primaries, what should we expect in the real election?”A victim, Gideon Makinde, whose Toyota Camry was vandalized
told Punch that he parked his car by a side of the road.A resident, Abdulhamed Kareem, explained that some of the
hoodlums broke into his sister’s supermarket, and took all the money in the
drawer.He showed Punch correspondent a commercial bus that was
riddled with bullets.He said,
“The man inside the bus was hit by a bullet and has
been rushed to a hospital,” he added.It was learnt that the same scenario almost played out
during another APC primaries in the Ogudu area, but for the intervention of the
police.It was learnt that protesters in Ogudu were prevented from
fomenting trouble during the primary.The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said
nobody died in the Ebute Meta incident.He said, “There was a congress in the place this afternoon.
When they finished and announced the result, some persons attempted to cause
commotion.
“We were able to protect the materials and the officials,
who were escorted out of the scene without any harm. One person was shot and he
was taken to the hospital. There is no record of death.”He added that the election in the Ogudu area was peaceful
and there was no shooting.He said, “Election was held around a police station in
Ogudu, and some people came from Oworonshoki and started chanting protest
songs. They were asked to leave.”The APC spokesperson for Lagos State, Joe Igbokwe, told PUNCH
Metro he was not aware of any mayhem.Via. Punch
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