
Please try another search
LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigerian presidential contender Peter Obi of the opposition Labour Party said his supporters were on Saturday attacked and injured ahead of a rally in the commercial capital Lagos, a stronghold of the ruling party.
Previous elections in Africa's most populous nation have been fraught with violence between supporters of rival parties and a number of instances of political violence have occurred ahead of the Feb. 25 parliamentary and presidential vote.
"We cannot continue to tolerate attacks on members of the political opposition, often fuelled by the incendiary rhetoric of political leaders," Obi said in a statement, urging police to investigate.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack but local television stations showed several damaged cars carrying Labour Party stickers and injured supporters getting medical help at the rally venue in downtown Lagos.
Local police had no immediate comment.
At the rally, Obi told supporters he would reform the police to make it more professional, end the oil thefts that have hobbled production in the Niger Delta, and improve security to allow farmers to boost agriculture output.
Obi is leading in several polls but the race is expected to be tight. Young voters, frustrated by economic hardships, endemic corruption and unemployment, are Obi's main support base.
Obi will face Bola Tinubu, the former governor of Lagos and the ruling All Progressives Congress candidate, and former vice president Atiku Abubakar from the main opposition People's Democratic Party.
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.