Senator escapes as thugs attack APC primaries in Ondo

Gunfire disrupted several wards in the Ondo Central Senatorial District of Ondo State on Monday during the senatorial primaries of the All Progressives Congress APC, after suspected political thugs invaded voting venues.

The attackers, believed to be loyal to one of the aspirants, stormed Ward 5, Okelisa on Amudipe Street in Akure, the state capital. 

There, they targeted supporters of the district’s incumbent senator, Adeniyi Adegbomire.

Adegbomire, who was seeking the party’s ticket, narrowly escaped as the assailants opened fire, hitting his vehicle. Security personnel quickly evacuated him from the scene.

Witnesses said the thugs fired repeatedly into the air and at the senator’s car, causing panic. Journalists covering the primaries, pupils of Ebenezer Primary School, and nearby traders fled for safety as chaos spread across the area.

The attackers, some armed with machetes, also assaulted voters and disrupted the counting process at the ward.

Speaking afterward, Adegbomire described the exercise as deliberately undermined. He claimed the process had been in his favour before it was violently interrupted and alleged that thugs were deployed to block his supporters from participating.

“This is a complete charade,” he said. “I was at my ward, Okelisa Ward 5 in Akure South, for the APC senatorial primaries. Voting had started, and my supporters, about 360, had already been counted. As counting continued for other candidates, it became clear I was leading. That was when thugs invaded the venue, shooting into the air and at my car, I can show you the bullet marks.

“They attacked people with machetes, beat voters, and disrupted the entire process. Reports reaching me indicate similar incidents across the district. My supporters are being prevented from accessing polling areas, with threats that anyone not voting for a particular candidate should go home. Thugs have been hired to inti

midate people.”