Miscreants suspected to be political thugs, yesterday afternoon, invaded a rally organised by the Lagos

Chapter of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, led by a former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola.

The rally, held at Lion Field in Alimosho Local Government Area of the state, was organised to receive and welcome Mr Peter Obi, Labour Party Presidential Candidate in the 2023 general polls, and the party’s governorship flag bearer in Lagos, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, to the party.

Shortly after the kick-off of the programme, it was gathered that miscreants stormed the venue and sacked participants.

The rally was also organised to sensitise residents on the importance of obtaining their Permanent Voter Card, PVC, and urge members to mobilise youths to register during the exercise in preparation for the 2027 general elections in Lagos.

The miscreants who were suspected to be supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state, inflicted varying degrees of injuries on their victims.

Policemen deployed from Lagos State Police Command were obviously overwhelmed as the miscreants went haywire sending everyone in different directions.

As of press time, no arrest had been made by the police command. Meanwhile, Publicity Secretary, Lagos Chapter of the APC, Seye Oladejo, when contacted, dismissed the allegation by ADC against his party, absolving the ruling party of involvement in the incident

Said Oladejo, “The opposition is certainly not helping our democracy to grow by accusing the ruling party to be the cause of their internal rifts.

“It is a well known fact that the opposition in the country is a house divided against itself.

“The APC as the ruling party is the greatest stakeholder when it comes to maintaining peace and tranquility in the state.

“The opposition as presently constituted poses no threat to us and we are not interested in their inability to put their house in order.

“They are already looking for excuses for their imminent defeat come 2027.

We vehemently deny any role in the failure of their rally and want to urge them not to throw the state into turmoil.

“We hereby call on all law enforcement agencies to ensure that the peace of the state is not disrupted by some political jobbers.” (Vanguard, but headline rejigged)