Violence on Saturday marred elections in many parts of the Lagos State as hoodlums invaded voting centres. There had been outrage over the invasion of a voting unit at the Ikate area of Lagos with some alleging that the thugs came from near the palace of Elegushi, the traditional ruler of the area. Other parts of Lagos where violence were included Aguda in Surulere, Oshodi and some parts of Ojo. 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.