The Oyo State Police Command has confirmed an attack on supporters of Accord Party governorship candidate, Oriyomi Hamzat, by suspected hoodlums in Molete, Ibadan South-West Local Government Area.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, confirmed the incident during a telephone conversation with PUNCH Online on Wednesday, saying Hamzat’s supporters were ambushed during a peaceful procession.
“I am aware of the attacks. The loyalists of Hamzat were ambushed during a peaceful procession at Molete end of the ancient city,” Ayanlade said.
It was gathered that Hamzat, a radio presenter and Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Agidigbo 88.7 FM, Ibadan, and his supporters were pelted with stones by unidentified suspected hoodlums in Molete.
According to eyewitnesses, the intervention of security personnel and efforts by Hamzat to calm his supporters prevented them from launching a reprisal attack against the suspected hoodlums.
The procession was reportedly organised to welcome Hamzat back to Nigeria from the United Kingdom late on Tuesday night.
One of the eyewitnesses, who declined to be named, told PUNCH in Ibadan on Wednesday that the aggrieved supporters insisted that no amount of intimidation by any individual or group would stop them from supporting their preferred candidate.
Another eyewitness, who identified himself simply as Kola, condemned the incident, saying, “This is democracy. You have the right to support any candidate of your choice. We ought to have outgrown this kind of politics of bitterness and thuggery in Oyo.”
A member of the group, Kehinde Olaiya, said some supporters sustained injuries during what he described as an unprovoked attack, while some vehicles in their convoy were vandalised.
He added that Hamzat remained committed to peace and that the supporters had left the scene. According to him, the procession was expected to end at the headquarters of Agidigbo FM along the Ojoo-Iwo Road Expressway, following the planned route from the Ibadan Toll Gate end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The police confirmation comes amid conflicting accounts surrounding the confrontation in Molete, with the incident raising concerns about political violence and the safety of supporters during political activities.
