As thuggery resonates ahead 2023 polls…

Penultimate week, some youth suspected to be thugs from Osun state were intercepted by security agencies on their way to Ekiti to disrupt the primary election; KEHINDE OSASONA recalls.

At a function in Lagos recently, an All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant for Lagos state House of Assembly, Mr. Abdul-Lateef Yahaya, said thuggery could be minimised in the nation’s politics with the commitment of all players.

Yahaya, a former chief of staff to the Badagry local government area chairman, stated this while addressing youth and women at a mega event held in Ajido, Badagry.

He said with sincerity on the part of political parties, candidates, voters, the youth and other stakeholders, thuggery would be drastically reduced. According to him, proper guidance by the youth and their determination to build Nigeria’s democracy would be needed to eliminate thuggery in politics.

“We can start to minimise thuggery; we just have to start gradually,” he said.

As the nation prepares for the 2023 polls, the political landscape has continued to witness acts of thuggery with the latest being the arrest of some armed thugs by a combined team of security agents in Ekiti state. The thugs were arrested with guns, machetes, charms and many others in their possession.

After their arrest, a report filtered in that the armed thugs were apprehended at about 3:00am while allegedly heading to Ekiti from Ibadan were believed to be members of the Oyo state Park Management System (PMS).

Against the backdrop of these developments, has thuggery become a culture in our polity?

Oyo

In October 2021 to be precise, about 50 vehicles were reportedly vandalised outside the Jogor Events Centre in Ibadan, where the aggrieved members’ faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo was holding its congress. While the congress was ongoing, suspected thugs armed with weapons stormed the venue and unleashed mayhem.

Osun

In Osun state, some gun-wielding thugs reportedly attacked the weekly meeting of factional members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osogbo, the state capital.

Keen followers of political events in the state would recall that members of the APC loyal to the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, had fallen apart with the governor.

Known as the Osun Progressives, TOP, the group who were holding their weekly meeting at the Oranmiyan House along Osogbo-Gbongan road was allegedly attacked by thugs who drove to the spot in a black Toyota Sienna vehicle around 2:10 pm.

According to reports, three people alighted from the vehicle, which first parked at Gbodofon junction, shooting sporadically into the air to disperse the gathering.

They thereafter retreated into the car, made a U-turn and drove towards Gbodofon Bridge. The vehicle parked opposite the Oranmiyan building and the gunmen alighted again shot into the air for about two minutes before they drove off towards Gbongan road shooting into the air.

When the meeting reconvened, TOP chairman, Elder Lowo Adebiyi, was quoted to have said, “This is unfortunate, we are members of the same party, yet, and those in government send thugs to attack us. We have different views as members of the same party, but they should not sponsor thugs to attack us, we are not in opposition. We will report the matter to the Divisional Police Officer and the Commissioner of Police.

“We have been holding our meetings here weekly and have never been attacked, but, today, officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC that do provide security for us were on duty outside the state and we were attacked. You are aware that one of the cabinet members under Governor Adegboyega Oyetola criticised the NSCDC publicly for providing security and today because they were not here some thugs shot at us.”

However, Governor Oyetola’s spokesman, Mr. Ismail Omipidan, described Adebiyi as a serial liar, saying his allegation should not be taken seriously.

He said, “I have an intelligence report that Abdulrasaq Salinsile, the former APC secretary in the state, met with one of those that were alleged to have carried out today’s attack. I want to believe they are acting out a script already prepared by them. We want the concerned security agencies in the State to watch Adebiyi closely, as he appears to be up to something sinister.

“My principal is not a violent man and will never support any violence in whatever form. I strongly urge our former governor and current Interior minister, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, to disown Adebiyi before he rubbishes his good office.”

Edo

Similarly, in 2019, when the Edo state House of Assembly crisis was at its peak, thugs were reported to have attacked some members at a hotel in the state capital.

Some of the fifteen lawmakers attacked during the crisis were Mr. Seidu Oshiomhole (Etsako West II), younger brother to former Governor Adams Oshiomhole, who was at the time the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), leaving some with serious injuries.

The 15, who are loyal to the APC national chairman, were not invited to the Monday night inauguration of the assembly where nine members met to elect Mr. Frank Okiye (Esan North East 1) as speaker.

Bayelsa

Also, in 2019,thugs invaded a polling unit in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital, carting away voting materials.

The thugs who invaded the PU 020, Ward 05, Etegwe Primary School, Yenagoa, at about 4:21pm according to reports were in their numbers.

Blueprint Weekend gathered that the thugs, numbering twenty, came with different dangerous weapons and chased away the Corps members working as ad-hoc staff of INEC and carted away thumb-printed ballot papers and boxes.

Many of the voters, electoral observers and INEC officials fled the polling unit for fear of being harmed by the rampaging thugs.

Lagos

In 2019, after a tension soaked political campaigns to elect chairmen and councillors into the 20 local government areas and 37 LCDAs across the state, the primary elections which took place after were characterised by violent attacks, killings, thuggery and selective voting.

At Surulere local government area, for instance, this reporter gathered that voting was disrupted by suspected cultists and thugs wielding cutlasses and guns.

Vandalism in Gombe

Recently, the Gombe state secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) situated on Bauchi Road was vandalised and burnt down.

During the incident which reportedly took place at about 2:00 am, hoodlums overpowered the security personnel on duty and gained entrance.

Way forward

On ways of checking the trend, an Abuja-based politician, Kadiri Immam Ishiaq, wondered why thuggery is yet to fizzle out in the country’s political transition.

“I think that by now the sponsors of these thugs should have seen that countries of the world have gone beyond thuggery in settling disputes arising from political indifferences,” he said.

Isiaq advocated penalties against individuals or parties found sponsoring or having sympathy for thugs.

 In his contribution, a sociologist, Iremide Marcus, faulted government agencies for not doing enough to discourage the menace.

“Agencies like NOA and the rest should have stepped up their games by now. I personally think that thuggery would be with us for a long time because the orientation and public campaign against it is still poor and nothing to celebrate,” he said.