Labour Party calls on Inspector General of Police to investigate several attacks on its members

By Desola Aderemi

The leadership of the Labour Party (LP) has called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to investigate a series of attacks on its members from the opposition parties. The attacks have been ongoing before the February 2023 general election campaign and have continued even after the election.

According to a statement from the party, the attacks on its members have been severe, including assassinations, kidnappings, and destruction of properties. These incidents have created a tense and dangerous environment for political candidates, their relatives, and supporters.

Speaking on some of these attacks, the statement stated that the residence of the Labour Party’s (LP) House of Representatives candidate for Lere Federal Constituency in Kaduna State, Suleiman Tambaya, was attacked by gunmen on Friday 3rd February, while he was lucky not to be at home at the time of the incident, two of his boys were killed during the attack.

A day after February 4, another candidate of LP suffered an attack. According to a report, the house of Nnaemeka Obiaraeri, the Imo assembly LP candidate representing Okigwe Local Government Area was attacked. While no casualties were recorded, Obiaraeri stated that his house, cars, and those of his father and uncles were burnt and destroyed by the gunmen.

The party also revealed that its presidential contender Peter Obi supporters were on Saturday attacked and injured ahead of a rally in the commercial capital Lagos, a stronghold of the ruling party on February 11.

Peter Obi further stated that elections in Africa’s most populous nation have been fraught with violence between supporters of rival parties, and we cannot continue to tolerate attacks on members of the political opposition, often fuelled by the incendiary rhetoric of political leaders,” Obi said in a statement, urging police to investigate.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack, but local television stations showed several damaged cars carrying Labour Party stickers and injured supporters getting medical help at the rally venue in downtown Lagos, and several instances of political violence have occurred ahead of the Feb. 25 parliamentary and presidential vote.

The party recorded multiple attacks on Thursday 23rd February, that there was an attempted kidnapping of Zaynab Owonikoko, daughter of Labour Party member Ibrahim Owonikoko from Ado-Odo Ota Ogun state. The kidnappers disguised themselves as Zaynab’s relatives and tried to abduct her from school, but thankfully, the Nigeria Police Meiran division intervened quickly and foiled the attempt.
The report stated that it’s not the first time Mr. Ibrahim and his family have been targeted. Just three months prior, his house was attacked by unknown gunmen, who beat and tortured his wife and kids. Furthermore, there was an attempted assassination of Mr. Ibrahim on June 21, 2021. When assailants ambushed him on his way home from work, he managed to escape with the help of local security.

Another incident also happened on the 23rd of February as gunmen killed the Labour Party (LP) senatorial candidate for Enugu East District in Amechi Awkunanaw, a community in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State, south-east Nigeria. The victim, Oyibo Chukwu, was killed on Thursday evening alongside five supporters who were inside his vehicle. The killing comes barely three days to the senatorial election, which is scheduled to be held on Saturday, 25 February.

The Chairman of the LP in Enugu State, Casmir Agbo, confirmed the incident. Mr Agbo suggested that the attackers were not “unknown gunmen” as widely reported, insisting that what happened was a political assassination.

A source close to the slain LP candidate also confirmed the incident, saying the body of Mr. Chukwu, the candidate, was burnt by the gunmen during the attack.

The problem is that he (Chukwu) does not have security escorts. He campaigns and goes about without any security. Maybe he thought, “Politics is not a dirty game,” he stated.

When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, confirmed the incident but asked for time to provide the details of the attack.
The source also states that it is not the first time that some LP members have been targets of gunmen attacks in the South – East in recent times, mainly during the party’s political rallies in the region. But the killing of a candidate of the party is a novelty in Enugu State.

The party reported that councilorship candidate for Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Ward 12, Olayemi Ogunsola, was killed by some suspected gunmen on Wednesday 14th June, in Atan road off Ado-Odo Local Government Area of Ogun state. It was gathered that the assailants stormed the area in a tinted car while shooting sporadically. A source, who sought anonymity, narrated that the assailants arrived in a tinted car from which one of them stepped out, shot Olayemi at close range, and later smashed his head ensuring that the victim was dead.

A senior police officer in the area confirmed the incident while stating that the family took the corpse away for burial.

The report also includes Mrs Kalejaiye Adeojo assassination, women leader of the Labour Party in the Akoko South-East Local Government Area of Ondo State. She was assassinated by unknown gunmen on November 3rd ahead of the governorship election in the state.

She was killed on Friday night by the gunmen who invaded her residence at about 8 pm. and shot at her. The victim’s husband was also said to have been shot and was rushed to the hospital.

The police authorities were yet to confirm the incident, but the Chairman of the Labour Party in Ondo, Yemi Omoniyi, had confirmed the incident.

Yemi disclosed that the gunmen shot the victim several times in her leg and spinal cord, which led to her immediate death. He also explained that the gunmen rejected the monetary offer made by the husband of the victim for them to spare her life.

These repeated attacks on Labour party members and supporters highlight the risks and challenges faced by politicians and their loved ones, especially in Nigeria’s complex and often volatile political landscape.

Therefore, the Labour Party’s leadership is seeking justice for the violent attacks on its members, urging the Inspector General of Police to conduct a thorough investigation and hold perpetrators accountable. This call to action comes after a series of brutal attacks, including assassinations, kidnappings, and destruction of property, targeting Labour Party members during and after the February 2023 general election campaigns