There was tension in the Ikotun area of Lagos State after armed men stormed the area, shot an unidentified man, and others sustained various degrees of injuries following the All Progressives Congress primary election.
New Telegraph gathered that the incident happened in a primary school in the Ile-Iwe, Egbe area of the community when the party faithful converged to elect their candidates.
According to an eyewitness, the primary exercise was ongoing peacefully before an argument allegedly broke out among rival supporters at the venue. This was said to have led to chaos and violence.
A resident, who identified himself simply as Taofeek, said the violence disrupted activities in the area as other supporters and delegates fled for fear of further attacks.
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“We suddenly started hearing people shouting and running. Everybody became confused because nobody initially knew what was happening.
“After the gunshots, people started jumping fences and hiding in nearby houses. It was later that we heard that one person was killed while others sustained injuries,” Taofeek disclosed.
He further explained that the injured victim was rushed out of the venue but later died on the way to the hospital.
“The victim was rushed out after he was shot, but we learned he later died. It created serious tension around the venue because many people were afraid,” he added.
A police source confirmed that additional security operatives were drafted to the scene of the incident before normalcy was restored.
“The moment the situation became violent, our men called for backup, and the DPO and Area Commander moved to the venue to restore peace,” the police source said.
The police source, however, did not confirm if any arrest had been made.
Efforts to reach the spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force in Lagos State, Abimbola Adebisi, were unsuccessful as calls and messages sent to his telephone line were not responded to.
Party officials were yet to issue an official statement regarding the incident as of press time.
Electoral and political violence have remained recurring concerns in Nigeria, particularly during party primaries, elections and rerun polls, with clashes among rival supporters often resulting in injuries, deaths and destruction of property.
