The Lagos State Police Command says it has arrested 26 people in connection with the murder of a Peoples Democratic Party agent, Mr. Sikiru Ogboye, on Sunday.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the victim had been hired to monitor the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards in Oriledu, Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of the state when he was attacked by hoodlums around 2pm.
It was learnt that the killing of Ogboye was reported at the Ajah Police Division, Ajiwe and then policemen stormed the scene to make the arrests.
A former Minister of State for Defence and governorship aspirant, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, condemned the murder of Ogboye.
In a statement issued on Monday by Ohimai Amaize, his Special Adviser on Media Strategy, Obanikoro described the cold-blooded murder of Ogboye in broad daylight as “callous, barbaric and a crime against humanity that must not go unpunished.”
He blamed the All Progressives Congress for the act.
He said, “One wonders why the APC in Lagos State has become so desperate and intolerant even when it is clear that they have become very unpopular and the people of Lagos State have rejected them.
“The PDP as a peace-loving party, believes in the ability of the Nigeria Police to protect the lives of Nigerian citizens. This reckless act of stone age savagery by APC hoodlums in Lagos State must be swiftly contained by our law enforcement agencies.
“A situation where the APC is allowed to run riot and reduce Lagos State to a theatre of bloodshed and war simply because they hope to win elections at all costs will not be tolerated by Lagosians.”
However, the publicity secretary of the APC, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, denied that the APC had a hand in the murder. He also condemned the murder.
He said, “Our party is not a nest of killers like the PDP. We do not support or encourage violence in any form. We do not control the police, army, air force or navy or any other security outfit. The PDP owns them and you can ask Senator Obanikoro. I hope this is not an attempt to get back to the APC. We have accused the PDP of murdering our supporters recently and now they have staged a come back.
“The police should be honest enough to investigate what went wrong and if anybody is found guilty, he should face the law of the land. We will never subscribe to that kind of act.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, while confirming the murder and the arrests, told PUNCH Metro that he could not say what political party the deceased belonged to.
He said, “Yes, there was a man killed during the PVC exercise in the area. I cannot confirm which party he might belong to. However, the police have arrested 26 suspects in connection to the violence in the area.
“Also, a pump action gun and a live cartridge were recovered from the suspects. The suspects have all been transferred to the State Criminal Investigations Department, Yaba where further investigation is ongoing.”
Meanwhile, there was a fracas on Saturday morning at the Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area office of the Independent National Electoral Commission when angry workers disrupted the PVC distribution exercise claiming that their names were excluded from the INEC list in the ‘dying minute.’
Our correspondent learnt that the protest started from the early morning till about 12pm.
It was also gathered that the workers, who reportedly numbered over 300, converged on Bamgboye Street, Alakuko where the INEC office is, and prevented the buses meant to convey PVC materials to centres from driving out.
When our correspondent visited the area, one of the protesters, Mr. Femi Akinola, told PUNCH Metro that it was when they got to the centre on Saturday morning to meet their supervisors that they discovered that a new list had been pasted by INEC.
He said, “INEC had already pasted a list on Friday at about 10.30am where we were told we should meet our supervisors and get ready for collection of materials the following day for the exercise.
“Surprisingly, when all of us returned this morning, we discovered that the initial list, about 500 people, had been replaced with a smaller list of about 200 people, and most names were excluded from it. That was when the protest began.”
On the black gate leading to the INEC office, our correspondent saw small pieces of papers which the protesting workers pasted, with various insulting writings. A paper read, ‘We slept here and endured mosquitoes and you still cheated us. You shall not have rest.’
Our correspondent, however, observed as of the time of visit that policemen attached to the Alakuko and Ijaiye-Ojokoro divisions had arrived at the centre with their vans to calm the protesters, and restore normalcy in the area.
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