24th March, 2011
The violence being unleashed by sponsored thugs at political gatherings and the inflammatory statements made by desperate politicians in the country less than two weeks to the start of the general elections are, to say the least, very worrisome.
On Tuesday, soldiers were called in to quell a bloody clash between supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.
During the rampage by hired thugs that lasted several hours, several persons lost their lives and many sustained life-threatening injuries. Reports also said that several buildings were torched and more than 500 brand new vehicles were set ablaze.
On Monday, serious fracas erupted at Onitsha and Awka between supporters of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, and Accord Party during a rally by Senator Annie Okonkwo.
The Awka market was closed down following the fight between APGA thugs and Annie Okonkwo’s campaign team. The candidate of Accord Party for Anambra Central, Senator Okonkwo, sustained injuries during the clash and had to report the matter to the police.
One person was feared dead and several others sustained injuries during the clash at Eke Awka Central market while the clash between Joy Emordi’s APGA group in Onitsha, and Chris Ngige’s ACN campaign team resulted in injury to Ngige.
Bombs are also being used to attack political opponents. During one of such attacks on Timi Alaibe, a governiorship candidate in Bayelsa State, six persons were killed.
Just before the 2007 elections, similar incidents resulted in the death of Funsho Williams, a PDP governorship front runner in Lagos State and Daramola, a governorship aspirant in Ekiti State. Both of them were assassinated by unidentified gunmen believed to have been sponsored by their political opponents.
This time, it appears that things are getting out of hand and security agencies seem to have been overwhelmed by the enormity of the violence. In Akwa Ibom, soldiers were called in because the police had been overpowered and in other cases, security agencies could not cope with the spate of violence.
The inflammatory statements made by politicians seem to be responsible for the violence as they incense their supporters and goad them to unleash violence on supporters of political opponents.
The 2011 elections is beginning to look like a do or die election with politicians ready to go to any length to win or rig. We call on politicians to tone down their campaign rhetoric and play by the rules during this critical days before the election. Security agencies should also step up their efforts to stop thugs from spreading terror across the country.
