Supporters of the All Progressives Congress and the African Democratic Congress clashed at a toll gate in Kaduna State on Tuesday. Several vehicles were vandalised during the incident.
The confrontation occurred as supporters of the African Democratic Congress governorship candidate Isa Ashiru gathered to welcome him. He had returned from a two week Lesser Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Dr Ilesha Paul, chairman of the Ashiru Support Group, said he was among those whose vehicles suffered damage. He explained that supporters from different parts of the state had converged to welcome Ashiru and escort him home when they came under attack.
“We don’t have weapons because we did not go there to fight. We went there simply to welcome our candidate, Ashiru,” he said. He added that his mobile phone was also taken.
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress state secretary Mohammed Sani Haruna offered a different account. He claimed All Progressives Congress supporters were the ones attacked at the toll gate.
“I reached out to the people there and we discovered it was our people that were attacked. In fact, we were the ones who suffered damage,” Haruna said. He stated that the party was working to douse tension and avoid escalation.
Isa Ashiru’s spokesman Abdulwaheed Olayinka Adubi confirmed the damage to vehicles and insisted African Democratic Congress members were the victims.
“Our people were attacked and their vehicles were damaged. We saw those who attacked us. They were inside a fully branded Hilux vehicle with ‘Renewed Agenda’ written on it and an 18-seater bus carrying fully armed youths,” he said.
Attackers allegedly pelted the group with stones. Mobile phones were also reportedly stolen from some victims.
The All Progressives Congress later issued a statement through its public relations officer Sani Dan Azare. The party condemned the attacks on its members and the vandalisation of vehicles. It called on the Nigeria Police Force to investigate the incidents promptly and take action against those found responsible.
