The campaign team of governorship candidate of Lagos State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Jimi Agbaje, was on Thursday attacked by hoodlums believed to be supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), injuring a number of his supporters and damaging a dozen vehicles in their trail.
According to a release made available to newsmen in Lagos by his media office through Mr Felix Oboghina, the attack, which left some members of Agbaje’s entourage sustaining minor injuries took place after he visited the palace of the Oniba of Iba, Oba Goriola Oseni in Ojo Local Government area of the state.
About a dozen vehicles in Agbaje’s convoy were said to have been attacked and damaged, including a Toyota Coaster bus that had its rear glass broken, while a Toyota Hummer bus had a side glass broken.ALSO READ
Although the candidate himself escaped unhurt, several supporters were said to have sustained various degrees of injury, following attacks by the hoodlums who wielded dangerous weapons, including guns, knives, machetes, among others.
Those reportedly stabbed were: Tunde Lawal, Toheeb Alamu, Dayo Sofola and Segun Moyo, while some others on the entourage lost valuables, such as phones and cash.
The statement added that Agbaje was also denied use of the Ojo Town Hall that PDP leaders had earlier booked for their council’s version of the series of Town Hall meetings he had been holding around the state.
According to the release, the development led the PDP candidate shifting the event to the sidewalk of the ever-busy Olojo Drive, in Ojo Local Government, where he hosted hundreds of supporters, under the watchful eyes of the police.
Addressing his supporters at the gathering, Agbaje said: “We said we wanted to hold this event inside the local government hall, a facility that belongs to all of us. We paid for the hall, but they refused us the use.”
However, he said that the deprivation had turned into a blessing in disguise, as the event had attracted a larger crowd than originally anticipated.
Agbaje, who had on his way to the palace stopped to exchange pleasantries with APC members returning from a meeting in the area, lamented the growing intolerance of the ruling party in the state against opposition figures and supporters.
His words: “Elections are about choice; it is about democracy. There is so much intolerance on the part of the ruling party to having people choose their preferred candidates.”
After the town hall meeting on Olojo Road, Ojo, the hoodlums not done yet, once again gave the departing convoy a hot chase, with stones and bottles flying after the fleeing vehicles.
However, the situation was brought under control by police who shot into the air to dissuade the stubborn pursuers from their evil design.
At the town hall meeting that held at Olojo Drive, in Ojo, Agbaje praised the ethnic diversity of Lagos and said the multifaceted character of the city lent to its appeal.
“We are not driving anybody away from Lagos,” he said.
According to him, the level of underdevelopment that the state had suffered had brought much suffering to the people now craving for freedom from the hardship under which they groaned.
“We shall win the State House of Assembly, we shall win the Senate seats, we shall win the House of Representatives seats, we shall win the governorship and PDP shall win the presidential election,” he predicted.
