The clash between members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress on Thursday in Ibadan, which reportedly left three persons dead, was confirmed by the Oyo State Police Command on Friday.
The Ile-tuntun neighborhood in the Ibadan South-East Local Government Area was the area of the altercation.
Adewale Osifeso, the state police public relations officer, said the deputy commissioner of police in charge of the state criminal investigation and intelligence department had been ordered to lead an investigative team to the scene of the incident. Osifeso made the announcement during a call-in segment on Fresh FM Ibadan.
Osifeso said, “Yes, the unfortunate incident did occur yesterday, and as we speak investigation has commenced into unraveling the root cause of the incident. Oyo State is the cradle of sophistication and the world depends on Oyo for a lot of things, we should not continue in the trajectory known for hooliganism.
“Elections will come and go but people will be there.”
The police spokesman pleaded with leaders, parents, and guardians to convince their wards not to interfere with the election.
According to reports, PDP members in passing cars reportedly harassed APC supporters and started hurling things at them as they were holding a meeting at the party office in Iyana Court, Ile-tuntun in Ibadan.
An eyewitness said, “The PDP then got angry, and when (they) retaliated, a leading member of the party and a member of the House of Representatives then picked a gun and fired gunshots at the APC members. That was what led to a free for all.
“The provoked attack saw many members of the APC injured with one of the party’s House of Assembly candidates escaped by the whiskers.”
