Six killed as PDP, APC thugs clash in Lagos

Six persons have been killed and several others injured during a clash between members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) at Isale Eko area of Lagos State. Five of them were killed yesterday while one was killed on Saturday when the fight started.
A police source said the fight was a fall-out of President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit to Lagos on Saturday. Apparently some youth members of APC were angry over the President’s visit, which they saw as a subtle way to campaign in their territory. “Nobody knows what really happened. But it has something to do with Jonathan’s visit on Saturday. They said he came to Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) to campaign.

The first person was killed on Saturday. The man is said to be a member of APC. Members of APC today killed five members of PDP,” the police source said. But when contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ngozi Braide, said it started on Saturday after a chairman of the National Union Road Transport Workers (NURTW) was allegedly killed by a PDP member.
As at yesterday evening, the police had deployed over 20 patrol vans and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) to curtail the spread of the violent confrontation between the two groups. It was also learnt that one Sego, an NURTW member, who is a thug working for a former Lagos State governor on the platform of APC, organised the hoodlums yesterday and handed them AK47 rifles.
He later led them to where they allegedly shot and killed five PDP members. Some angry people were sighted destroying posters of APC near the Oba’s palace yesterday at Isale Eko. Police have recovered over 16 expended AK47 cartridges and 20 pump action expended cartridges.
It was also gathered that last week, the police arrested 15 members of PDP and charged them to court over offences yet unknown. “On Saturday there was a problem. Someone shot chairman of NURTW. The shooter is said to be PDP member. Today, in a reprisal attack, APC members went to fight and shot two persons. They were rushed to the hospital by the police. Security has been beefed up in the area.”
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