Peter Obi supporters Threatened by Gunmen in Enugu!
Supporters to the Presidential election candidate of the Labour party have been threatened as some yet-to-be-identified gunmen attacked members of the party, who were holding a meeting in Awgu Community of Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State during the weekend.
Vanguard gathered that the gunmen, numbering about four, unleashed attack on unsuspecting party faithful at the venue of the meeting, shooting sporadically to disperse the party members.
The incident occurred at about 5:30 p.m on Sunday.
Reacting to the incident, the chairman of the party in the council area, IkechukwuIgwebuike, told newsmen that no life was lost in the attack, but he confirmed that some members sustained injuries from the attack.
He said, “They just stormed the venue on three motorcycles and started firing.”
Igwebuike informed that the gunmen shot in the air, attacked party members with their rifles, before disrupting the meeting.
He further stated, “We believe strongly that this is the handiwork of the opposition party,” he said, without mentioning the party.
“The windshield of one of our members’ vehicle was shattered.”
Earlier, in a similar occurrence, some members of the party were also attacked by gunmen in Nenwe, a community in Aninri Local Government Area of the state last Wednesday.
Also numbering about four, the unidentified stormed the venue on two motorcycles.
The Chairperson of Labour Party in the Local Government in the council area, Benjamin Ajah, confirmed the attack, saying the incident happened at about 2 p.m.
According to Ajah, the meeting was earlier billed to hold at the community secretariat, but was moved to a civic centre in the community.
The change of venue, according to him, comes after the administrator of the secretariat, Israel Anih, asked the party members to vacate the complex.
Ajah said, “MrAnih said we should not hold the meeting at the secretariat.”
According to reports, the administrator of the secretariat, MrAnih, is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
Ajah further narrated, “We just finished arranging the hall and just about saying our opening prayer for the meeting, then the armed men came and pursued us.
“They started shooting and we ran,” he said.
Ajah informed that no life was lost to the incident, adding that the incident has been reported to the police.
The police in the state have yet to make an official statement on the incident.
In the wake of palpable fears, there are insinuations the attacks might have been allegedly influenced by some members of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in the state.
The PDP members in the state are perceived to be “disturbed” by the increasing popularity and growing support for the Labour Party LP in the state.
Recall that Enugu is a PDP-led state and the party has a record of winning elections in the state over the years.
Lately, supporters of Obi have been holding million matches across the country to rally support ahead of 2023.
Members of the Labour Party under the auspices of the coalition for Peter Obi presidency have held a various ‘million-man-match’ walk for Obi and his running mate, Datti Ahmed in Ogun, Lagos, Kaduna, Rivers, Benue and still ongoing.
(Vanguard)
