Tension erupted in Molete, Ibadan, on Wednesday as suspected street urchins attacked hundreds of supporters of the Accord Party’s governorship candidate, Oriyomi Hamzat, during a peaceful procession.

The incident occurred around 1 pm at Molete Under Bridge in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area of Oyo State, causing panic as traders and residents scampered for safety.

The police have confirmed the attack, with the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, telling the Nigerian Tribune in a telephone conversation that he was aware of the incident.

The procession was organised to welcome Hamzat, who reportedly arrived in Nigeria from the United Kingdom late on Tuesday.

An eyewitness said trouble started when members of the campaign team attempted to paste posters in the area, prompting suspected hoodlums to attack them with stones and bottles while brandishing cutlasses.

Vehicles in the campaign convoy and those belonging to passers-by were reportedly vandalised, while some supporters sustained injuries.

The eyewitness added that Hamzat and security operatives intervened to prevent the supporters from retaliating against the attackers.

Some aggrieved supporters, however, insisted that the incident would not deter them from supporting their preferred candidate.

“This is democracy. You have the right to support any candidate of your choice. We ought to have outgrown this kind of politics of bitterness and thuggery in Oyo,” one of the supporters said.

The supporter described Hamzat as a man of peace and said the campaign team had left the scene despite the attack.

The procession, according to the supporters, was expected to continue from the Ibadan Toll Gate end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and terminate at the headquarters of Agidigbo FM along the Iwo Road–Ojoo Expressway.

Meanwhile, police personnel were deployed to the scene to restore normalcy and prevent further breakdown of law and order. (Tribune)