A group of hoodlums recently carried out a violent attack on some All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains in Efon Alaaye, Ekiti State, leaving four people injured and causing extensive damage to property.
Among the victims was businessman Chief Bode Olayinka, who sustained injuries during the assault.
The incident, which occurred on Monday evening, is believed to be connected to the upcoming local government elections scheduled for December.
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They wanted to stop others
Sources suggest that the attack was aimed at silencing other aspirants and preventing them from contesting against a preferred candidate.
Mr. Olaitan Olayinka, one of the victims, recounted his ordeal, stating that about 20 assailants armed with cutlasses and Dane guns attacked them in front of his family house.
Olayinka, a retired civil servant and an aspirant for the Chairman position in Efon Local Government area, asserted that he stood his ground despite the threats, insisting on his intention to contest and win the election.
It started in a masquerade event
The violence reportedly escalated during a masquerade event on July 31, where the thugs attempted to forcibly take a customized cap from one of Olayinka’s supporters. When the supporter resisted, he was severely beaten up and his clothes torn.
Despite efforts by elders to intervene, the hoodlums returned to Olayinka’s family house later that evening, wreaking havoc and injuring several people. They also smashed cartons of beer bottles in his shop.
Authorities have responded to the incident, with the police arresting and charging the alleged leader of the attacking group in court.
The victims are calling for the intervention of Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, to prevent further attacks and potential political crisis in the area.
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Army General makes himself new leader of Niger after coup
Meanwhile, Niger elected President, Mohamed Bazoum, was detained in a coup led by the Presidential Guard on Wednesday and on Friday Niger’s putschists named an army general as the new leader.
The former colonial ruler, France, expressed its disapproval of the coup, urging the plotters to respect the democratically-elected president and leave him in office.
General Abdourahamane Tchiani, head of the Presidential Guard since 2011, emerged as the leader of the coup and declared himself the “president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland.”
