Two die in ACN, PDP supporters’ clash

No fewer than two persons died and property worth several millions of naira were destroyed at Fugar, the headquarters of Etsako Central Local Government Area of Edo State yesterday when supporters of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and those of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) clashed.
Fugar is the political base of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Chief of Staff, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe. The clash occurred less than 48 hours after the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Folusho Adebanji, met with contestants, leaders and members of political parties participating in next week Saturday’s local government election.
Chairman of ACN in Etsako Central Local Government Area, Mr. Paul Osugbo, and a resident identified as Oboareye Ibharue were allegedly killed in the rampage.
Also, a number of vehicles were set ablaze even as the ACN chairmanship candidate, Hon. Emmanuel Momoh, whose convoy was attacked narrowly, escaped death.
National Mirror reliably gathered in Fugar yesterday that trouble started on Wednesday evening when a PDP supporter, whose name was given as Odion Agbabi, allegedly drove his party’s vehicle into a campaign rally of the ACN chairmanship candidate, sparking the fracas that saw the supporters exchanging gunshots and other dangerous weapons to settle the score.
Gunshots rented the air throughout Wednesday night and continued yesterday. The deceased resident was described as the father of one the party candidate’s supporters.
He was allegedly shot dead in front of his house. Another victim was believed to have died in a hospital from severe injuries that he sustained.
This could not be confirmed, however. The ACN chairmanship candidate, Momoh, blamed the violence on PDP members, adding that the party was desperate to disrupt the forthcoming council poll.
Momoh said: “As I speak to you now, our party chairman’s house and vehicles were set ablaze while my convoy was attacked. When I was entering Fugar, my convoy was attacked and our vehicles were badly damaged.”
It was, however, learnt that security agents have been mobilised to restore normalcy into the local government area.
Some arrests have also been made in connection to the violence. Reacting to the violence yesterday evening, Edo State Chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Dan Osi Orbih, called on the police to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators.