A rally organised by the All
Progressives Congress in
Okirika, home to Nigeria’s First
Lady, Patience Jonathan, was
disrupted twice on Wednesday.
The rally was first disrupted by
triple bomb blasts which
occurred a few minutes after
the leadership and party faithful
assembled at the Okirika
National Secondary School field
in the early hours of the day.
A source, who pleaded not to be
named for security reasons, told
PREMIUM TIMES that the rally
had just got underway, when
three bombs went off in quick
succession in three different
locations close to the venue of
the programme.
“We had just started the rally
when three bombs went off near
the venue. There was a
stampede as people fled in
different directions to safety.
“Nobody knows who detonated
the bombs but it was very close
to the football field where the
rally took place. Many people
sustained injuries while trying
to escape to safety.
Two hours after the initial
disruption, the organizers
rallied party faithful and
supporters back to the venue of
the rally and the programme
was kicked off again.
Just as the speakers mounted
the platform to address the rally,
sporadic gunshots rented the air
and the party members again
took to their heels.
The party’s gubernatorial
candidate, Dakuku Peterside,
was fielding questions from a
Channels Television reporter
when the gunshots went off.
Both Mr. Peterside and the
reporter took to their heels as
armed mobile policemen fired
back and tried to calm down
frightened citizens.
While monitoring the rally,
which was broadcast live on
Channels Television, PREMIUM
TIMES saw one old man with a
walking stick struggling to
escape to safety while the
gunshots persisted.
No comments: