Report reaching us at Greenbarge Reporters has said that no fewer than nine different vehicles belonging to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were burnt to ashes today when supporters of the party clashed with that of the main opposition, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at Dei Dei, outskirts of the city.
It was learnt that in the ensuing confrontation, the APC campaign convoy which comprised the FCT Minister’s representative and his Chief of Staff, Bashir Mai-Borno, the APC Chairman in the FCT, Abdulmalik Usman, the DG FCT Campaign Council, Hon. Musa Yahaya Mohammed, candidates of the party to various offices in the forthcoming election as well as other supporters, was attacked while on its way to the palace of the SerkinJiwa.
It was further gathered that APC convoy was pelted with rocks and other deadly missiles, while vehicles among the convoy were set ablaze with Molotov cocktail, otherwise known as petrol bombs. Other motorists were also not spared as their vehicles suffered serious damages.
Information had it that no life was lost in the fracas as security personnel rose to save the situation from escalating.
The suspected PDP supporters were said to mounted road block around the Timber Market axis of the Dei Dei road and prevented the APC convoy from proceeding to the palace of the Sarkin Jiwa.
They were said to have taken advantage of a PDP rally which was also being held around the Dei Dei Timber Market, to unleash mayhem on the APC Campaign Convoy.
The security detail attached to the office of the FCT Minister and others covering the event however responded by firing shots in the air to calm the situation.
It was learnt that the convoy was attacked again around the same spot while it was returning from the palace and heading to the grand finale of the APC FCT Campaign at the Old Parade Ground. It was during this second confrontation that 9 vehicles were set ablaze.
The security personnel were also quick to intervene this time firing several shots into the air to disperse the menacing attackers. Their intervention helped to create a brief window, which allowed the APC Campaign convoy to retreat and follow another route to safety. Nine vehicles that were not so fortunate were however set ablaze by the attackers. Others that made it to safety also had their windshields smashed.
In the milee, other motorists which were not part of the convoy also had their windshields broken by flying objects which were hauled by the hoodlums from different directions. Billowing smokes from burning vehicles were seen high up in the sky during the melee which occurred in the afternoon and around the twilight of the day.
Reacting to the incident, the Director General, FCT APC Campaign Council, Hon. Musa Yahaya Mohammed, described the attack as unfortunate, saying that intelligence information suggested that the attack was premeditated.
“Based on the report I gathered from the security personnel, about nine of our vehicles were burned down. Some of the vehicles that escaped also had their windscreens smashed. Few individuals also sustained varying degrees of injuries.
“I believe that it’s a good omen that it happened before the election. It’s a pointer to the fact that we should be security conscious and make a security arrangement during the elections and of course after the elections,” the DG said.