Tragedy struck today on Olu Aboderin Street, Onipetesi, Lagos State, Sunday evening as one of the bullets fired by some operatives of the anti-cultism unit of Lagos State police command hit a boy watching a Premier League match between Liverpool and Tottenham.

An eyewitness simply identified as Emenike said the officers came to the area to arrest a man wearing dreadlocks.

Emenike alleged that the policemen started shooting sporadically after the arrest, only for one of the bullets to hit the boy who is yet to be identified.

The victim was subsequently rushed to the general hospital in Ikeja, where he was confirmed dead.

Erdogan, speaking in Istanbul to reporters, acknowledged his Justice and Development Party (AKP) had suffered setbacks and vowed to learn "lessons" from the poll.

"We had some wins; we had some losses," he said. Erdogan went on to promise to introduce measures to boost the economy, which is mired in recession.

Possible defeat in Ankara

Some analysts see Erdogan's avoidance of his traditional fiery rhetoric against the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) as a sign of accepting defeat in the capital Ankara.

Ankara's CHP candidate, Mansor Yavas, appears set for a historic but narrow victory for the opposition.

In addressing thousands of supporters gathered in the heart of the capital, Yavas gave a conciliatory speech, promising to focus on services, adding there would be no purge of workers with ties to the AKP.

In Istanbul, the contest remains mired in controversy. AKP candidate Binali Yildirim claimed victory in a short speech. However, CHP candidate Ekrem Imamoglu immediately shot back, saying it was shameful to claim success, given that only a few thousand votes separate the candidates and some ballots remain uncounted.

Imamoglu called on his supporters not to sleep for the next 48 hours, warning their victory was being stolen from them.

Earlier Sunday evening, Imamoglu challenged the integrity of the counting of the vote, claiming there were disparities in results in the announced elections.

With 98.5% of votes counted in Istanbul, results appeared frozen with no update for several hours. Most of the outstanding uncounted ballots are in CHP strongholds.

Recent elections in Turkey have been marred by controversy over voter manipulation and outright fraud allegations by the opposition, a charge denied by the governing AKP. Critics, however, claim the Supreme Electoral Board, which administers elections, is run by the government and presidential appointees.

Sunday evening, the electoral board stopped sending results to the opposition parties for 40 minutes, claiming it was upgrading its system. Leading members of the opposition party went to the electoral board headquarters, demanding an explanation.

Beyond Ankara and Istanbul, the AKP lost several key provincial cities, while narrowly avoiding defeat in many others. Several other important results remain in the balance. (VOA)

• Turkey's President and ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, and his wife Emine, greet supporters after the results of the local elections were announced in Ankara, Turkey, early Monday, April 1, 2019.

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