The Oyo state Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Friday condemned the bloody clash between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members leading to the death of three people on Thursday.
Oyo NUJ, in a statement by its chairman, Comrade Ademola Babalola, asked security agents to fish out and arrest perpetrators of the killings.
“The senseless attacks and attendant killings of three people in Ile-Titun area of Ibadan South-east local government of the state ought not to have happened at all. This development has shown that our people are yet to learn their lessons that no blood of any individual is worth the aspiration of any candidate or their corresponding political party,” he said.
Comrade Babalola said further, “It is a shame and highly reprehensible that despite the peace accord signed by the political parties and their gubernatorial candidates, supporters could still go overboard and engage in supremacy battle to the extent of shedding blood.
“The NUJ views this development as condemnable, ugly, and ungodly. The security agents should ensure perpetrators of this act are brought to justice. Every life matters and culprits of this despicable act should be made to face the music accordingly.”
Cautioning that the state should not be allowed to descend into a “war of political thugs” and killing of innocent citizens and residents, the NUJ chairman described the development as “reprehensible, ungodly and barbaric which should not have happened at all if the gladiators had prevailed on their supporters to toe the path of honour and embrace peaceful conducts before, during, and after the elections.”
He charged the gubernatorial candidates in the state to caution their supporters to stop violent attacks and counter attacks, Comrade Babalola said “violence could threaten voters turn-out and suppress participation in the election.”
