Tension erupted in parts of Ondo Central Senatorial District on Monday as suspected political thugs invaded venues of the All Progressives Congress senatorial primary election, firing gunshots and disrupting the exercise.
The violence reportedly occurred at Ward 5, Okelisa, along Amudipe Street in Akure, the Ondo State capital, where supporters of Senator Adeniyi Adegbomire were allegedly attacked during the voting process.
Adegbomire, who is seeking the APC senatorial ticket for Ondo Central, narrowly escaped the incident after his vehicle was reportedly hit by bullets fired by the assailants.
Eyewitnesses said the hoodlums stormed the area shooting sporadically into the air, forcing residents, traders, journalists and pupils of a nearby primary school to flee for safety.
The attackers were also said to have wielded machetes while disrupting the counting process and allegedly assaulting some voters at the venue.
Speaking with journalists after the incident, Adegbomire described the exercise as compromised and accused some individuals of deploying thugs to intimidate his supporters.
“It’s a complete charade,” the senator said.
He explained that voting had commenced peacefully at his ward before the disruption occurred.
“Everybody was asked to line up and they started counting. They counted my supporters first and they were about 360. They then moved to count supporters of another aspirant when suddenly thugs invaded the venue and started shooting,” he alleged.
The lawmaker further claimed that similar incidents were reported across several wards within the senatorial district, alleging that some voters were prevented from participating unless they supported a particular aspirant.
“They shot at my vehicle and attacked people with machetes. Reports reaching me indicate that the same intimidation is happening across the district,” he added.
The incident heightened tension around the APC primaries in Ondo State, where internal disputes and controversies have continued to trail the party’s nomination process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
As of the time of filing this report, the Ondo State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the attack and alleged disruption of the exercise.
