Ekiti Poll: One Feared Dead As APC, SDP Supporters Clash 

One person was feared killed last Saturday at Itaji Ekiti in the Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State following the clash between supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the state.
While the APC blamed the SDP for attacking its members passing through the community, the opposition party claimed they were attacked by supporters of the ruling party.
Although sources could not confirm whether there was death or not, the Director of Media, Biodun Oyebanji Campaign Organisation of the APC, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said that the clash claimed the life of one of the APC members in the area.
Olatunbosun who condemned the alleged violent attack on APC members, said the clash “resulted in the killing of one APC member and many others sustaining severe injuries”.
According to him, “Some APC members are at present hospitalised where medical personnel are battling to save their lives following life-threatening injuries they received in the attack carried out by SDP thugs.
“The Oyebanji Campaign warns Oni and his supporters against further attacks on APC members. The warning to SDP and its candidate became imperative against the background of similar murderous conduct in the past when Oni allegedly deployed thugs to attack opposition members in his alleged desperate bid to win governorship rerun poll in 2009”.
He added, “The APC campaign procession in Ekiti North Senatorial District was peaceful earlier in the day until it was disrupted by SDP thugs. It was also reported that the attack on the deceased was carried out by violent thugs who arrived in one Toyota Hilux and Tacoma vehicles”.
But the Director of Media, Segun Oni Campaign Organisation of SDP, Jackson Adebayo, alleged that it was APC supporters that launched an unprovoked attack on SDP members.
He said, “We (the SDP) were at the palace at Itaji Ekiti where Segun Oni was meeting with obas in the local government area.
“Some people were outside the palace; suddenly, we saw about five buses loaded with transporters being used as political thugs by the APC. They started shooting sporadically. We initially thought they were shooting to scare us, people were running helter-skelter.
“They were also trying to force their way to where Segun Oni was, maybe in an attempt to assassinate him. That was when they were repelled by security agencies, who coincidentally were passing by. They escaped; unfortunately, one of the thugs missed their vehicle because he fell down. We interrogated him and he said they were agents of the APC.
“They were the ones that attacked us; nobody beat the one that missed their vehicle. He was already injured from the fall. It was later that people said one of them died”.