The 2023 presidential election in Lagos state was not without cases of violence as thugs disrupted voting process in some parts of the state.
According to reports, thugs disrupted voting process in Elegushi, Ikate area of Lekki and other parts of Lagos State.
There were also reports of attacks in some parts of Surulere Local Government Area of Lagos.
It was gathered that some suspected thugs attacked voters at some polling units in Surulere, carting away election materials.
It was also reported that at Ikate, popular Nigerian Rapper, Falz, had his phone stolen from him by thugs in the presence of policemen, while the thugs also scattered the ballot boxes and poured the ballot papers in the gutter.
There were also reports of disruptions in other areas in Lagos including Aguda, Ojo, Oshodi among others. However, security operatives have arrived in the area to restore normalcy.
Confirming that there were “isolated instances of thuggery” in some parts of Lagos, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, described the situation as an admixture.
“It was an admixture of very peaceful conduct in most parts but we also recorded isolated instances of thuggery. Like I said earlier, we anticipated them and we have multiple teams to respond in the fastest manner.
“We were able to stabilise the situation and rescue the INEC officials,” he said.
“I can confirm that several arrests have been made but as at this moment it is still an ongoing process. So, I cannot conclusively say this is the number of polling units where violence was recorded but at the end of the day we will do a post-election evaluation and come up with specifics,” the police commissioner added.
