Several people were reportedly injured and vehicles damaged on Wednesday when violence broke out during a welcome procession for Accord Party governorship candidate, Oriyomi Hamzat, in the Molete area of Ibadan.
The incident occurred around 1pm beneath the Molete bridge in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area. However, Hamzat’s campaign camp and a man who identified himself as a trader gave conflicting accounts of what triggered the clash.
The procession was organised to welcome Hamzat, who reportedly returned from the United Kingdom late on Tuesday night.
According to a witness, trouble began when campaign workers started pasting posters along the route. The witness alleged that suspected street urchins objected and attacked the procession with stones and bottles, while some carried cutlasses.
Vehicles in the convoy, as well as those of motorists passing through the area, were reportedly damaged. Several supporters were also said to have sustained injuries.
The witness said Hamzat and security personnel restrained his supporters from retaliating.
Traders and residents fled as the violence spread, before police officers were deployed to restore order.
The Oyo State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, reportedly confirmed awareness of the incident to some media outlets. However, the command had yet to issue a formal statement at the time of this report.
In a Facebook post, Hamzat’s spokesman, Samuel Ibikunle, popularly known as Arugbo Boiz, alleged that the candidate’s supporters were attacked. He said the incident would neither weaken their determination nor silence their peaceful support for Hamzat.
However, a man who identified himself as a trader challenged that account in a video circulating online. He alleged that Accord supporters caused the disorder and rejected suggestions that members of an opposing party were responsible.
The man claimed that traders witnessed the incident and that some recorded it.
The conflicting accounts have not been independently verified. The exact number of people injured and the identities of those responsible remained unclear at the time of this report.
A supporter who spoke after the incident described Hamzat as peaceful and said the violence would not weaken their loyalty to him. He added that the campaign team left the area following the clash and called for an end to political thuggery in Oyo State.
The procession was reportedly scheduled to begin at the toll gate on the Ibadan end of the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway and end at the Agidigbo FM headquarters on the Iwo Road–Ojoo Expressway.
