How APC Thugs Almost Shot Me dead, Nigerian Senator Narrates Ordeal
- A Nigerian senator, Abiodun Olujimi has alleged that the APC is complicit in the violence that marred the Ekiti bye-election
-Olujimi alleged that the APC used thugs to disrupt the poll
- However, the APC has dismissed allegations made by the PDP senator
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A Nigerian senator, Abiodun Olujimi, has alleged that she escaped being shot by some thugs loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the Ekiti bye-election.
According to The Cable, Olujimi, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said the incident occurred shortly after she visited some All Progressives Congress (APC) members at the polling unit.
She disclosed that eight people were shot after the thugs who came to snatch a ballot box opened fire at the polling unit.
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Olujimi said:
The leaders of APC came to the polling unit, in fact, we greeted warmly. After they left, some APC thugs who stayed behind pulled out guns and started shooting sporadically. This is the first time we would witness this. They picked the ballot box and ran away.''
“A man died as he was trying to escape the scene. The policewoman guarding the ballot box was also shot in the head. The corps member and presiding officer at the unit were hit by bullet.''
However, the APC has distanced itself from the violence that occurred in the Ekiti bye-election.
Premium Times reported that a spokesperson for the party, Sam Oluwalana, described the APC as a peaceful organisation.
The party said:
“The APC is law-abiding, peaceful, and as such has no reason to be violent. No election is worth the blood of any Ekiti son or daughter.
“We sincerely commiserate with the families of those who lost their loved ones, while also wishing the policewoman and other gunshot victims, still on admission in the hospital, quick recovery.''
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday, March 20, suspended the Ekiti East bye-election indefinitely following the violence that characterised the poll.
INEC's leadership made this drastic decision known through Festus Okoye, its national commissioner and chairman of the information and voter education committee.
From the commission's report in which it described the situation as unacceptable, it was revealed that some innocent voters were shot dead, while a policeman, INEC regular, and ad hoc staff members sustained gunshot injuries.
Kess Ewubare is a senior political/current affairs correspondent at Legit.ng. He has both a BSc and a Master’s degree in mass communication. He has over 10 years experience working in several fields of mass communication including radio, TV, newspaper, and online. He can be reached via email at kess2099@gmail.com.
Source: Legit.ng