Three persons have been reportedly injured following an attack by unknown gunmen at the campaign grounds of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital.
The incident, the Nation gathered, occurred at about 7:30 pm on Tuesday night.
There are also unconfirmed reports that the gunmen who arrived in a car, threw dynamite into the premises before opening fire on hapless members and supporters of the APC.
Our correspondent learnt the meeting APC agents for Saturday’s Governorship and House of Assembly elections was one of the activities which took place at the campaign grounds when the attackers struck.
When newsmen visited the victims in hospital, two of them were in critical condition.
The third victim, Mrs. Uduak Sunday, from Uyo, sustained a wound on her right leg.
She told newsmen that she had left the premises to purchase an item and that upon returning, she saw the attackers throwing an object (later discovered to be dynamite) into the campaign grounds before shooting indiscriminately.
According to her, in the ensuing bedlam, she was trampled upon by the fleeing crowd.
“I fell down and the next thing is that I found myself here in hospital,” she added.
One of the victims, Mr. Ndifreke Akpan, from Nsit Atai Local
Government Area, who lay unconscious at the hospital, was to serve as APC agent during the polls on Saturday.
Doctors did not reveal the identity of the last victim as they were
reportedly battling to extract a bullet from his body.
An eyewitness, Mr. Nsikak Etim Okon, while speaking with journalists in hospital, said he accompanied police officers that brought victims to the hospital.
Okon, who hails from Nsit Atai, said the victims were first taken to Saint Luke’s Hospital Anua.
He added that Ndifreke Akpan, who was shot in the leg, is a committed member of the APC.
Reacting to the attack, the APC Campaign Council in Akwa Ibom, in a statement by its Spokesperson, Hon. Eseme Eyiboh, described the attack as “another desperate attempt by the Peoples Democratic Party, its thugs and militant groups that have swarmed the state since the commencement of elections in February to cause large scale violence, capable of preventing the March 9, 2019 from holding.”
Eyiboh said: “This is another in the series of cowardly attempts at
intimidating and cowing our party, the APC, and its supporters in the build up to the March 9, 2019 governorship election in the state.
“Some months ago, unknown gunmen fired shots into the bedroom of the APC governorship candidate, Obong Nsima Ekere, at his Ewet Housing Estate residence with his family members narrowly escaping the attack.
“The attack at the campaign office is a confirmation of earlier intelligence received by our party of the likely attempt by the PDP to truncate the March 9, 2019 governorship polls in the state.
“Intelligence at our disposal indicates that faced with imminent defeat at the polls, Gov. Emmanuel and the PDP have decided to disrupt the polls in Akwa Ibom state if they are prevented from carrying out another wholesale electoral robbery like the one they perpetrated during the presidential and National Assembly elections in collusion with the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“We maintain that no desperation for an undeserved second term is worth the blood of any Akwa Ibom citizen. This fear-induced wickedness must cease.
“Gov. Udom Emmanuel should know by now that the majority of Akwa Ibom voters have rejected him for his poor philosophy of governance and lack lustre performance in office and no vote buying, no bombs, no shootings and no criminal collusion with INEC can save him from an excruciating defeat come March 9, 2019.”
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command, Mr. Odiko MacDonald, could not be reached for an update on the issue as his phone line was not connecting.
He did not reply text messages sent to his phone line by our reporter.