The drivers’ union of Ado Ekiti, Ekiti state, organized a protest on Sunday over the killing of one of its members during the political brawl between two rival political parties in the state.
Thugs allegedly loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) clashed in Itaji Ekiti on Saturday, leaving at least one dead and several injured.
The deceased, a driver, was identified as Tope Ajayi.
Both political parties had claimed that they were on the receiving end of the attack.
On Sunday morning, protesting drivers, backed by other APC members in the state, marched through the capital, sparking tensions and fears of possible retaliatory attacks against SDP members.
The APC accused the SDP campaign of masterminding the shooting of its supporters, including Mr. Itaji, a member of the Nigerian Road Transport Employers Association, who was shot dead during the clash.
It was collected that the protest forced many neighbors to cancel attendance at the church in the morning, closed, and the streets were deserted for fear of being caught in the fray.
Roads to important places such as Ijigbo, Odo-Ado, Okeyinmi, Atikankan and Ajilosun areas were blocked by protesters brandishing dangerous weapons, forcing commercial motorists and motorcyclists to take other routes to avoid being attacked.
However, a combined team from the Nigerian police, nigerian army and the Nigerian Civil Defense and Security Corps, was deployed to hotspots in Ado Ekiti to prevent any major violence.
Security forces seized areas such as Ijigbo, Atikankan, Basiri, Ajilosun and Ilawe road in the state capital, to prevent an imminent retaliatory attack.
In addition to patrolling the streets in Hilux trucks, three Armored Personnel Transport Vehicles were stationed at strategic points in the state capital
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Although normalcy had gradually returned to various parts of Ado Ekiti as of the time of this report, it emerged that the Assumpta area, where the Tosin Aluko car park is located, was still witnessing a lockdown.
When contacted, State Police Public Relations Officer Sunday Abutu said his men had been able to quell the crisis and restore calm to the Ado metropolis after the early-morning uproar.
He added that Police Commissioner Morounkeji Adesina had ordered a heavy deployment of plainclothes and riot police in some of the identified hotspots across the state, to prevent violence and bloodshed.
“The Police Commissioner and other security teams have been trying to ensure that these elections are free from violence, and other stakeholders, especially political actors, must join us, because no election is worth the blood of any citizen,” he said. Mr Abutu.
“Regarding what has been happening on the political scene, the CP has ordered full investigations into the reported cases of shooting and rioting and we assure you that the culprits will be dealt with severely.”
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