Benue PDP primary turns bloody as 20 vehicles damaged,10 injured.

On Thursday night during the Benue South senatorial primary of the Peoples Democratic Party held at the Aper Aku Stadium in Makurdi, the state capital, At least 10 persons sustained severe injuries while over 20 vehicles were badly damaged.

The senatorial primary had earlier been scheduled to hold in Otukpo, but couldn’t hold after allegations of falsification of the delegates’ list, a development that prompted the electoral committee members to shift the venue of the exercise.

However, trouble started on Thursday night when the accreditation of delegates was ongoing and some persons protested against the list of delegates from the Ohimini Local Government Area.

At this point, some suspected thugs who were supporters of some aspirants started hauling stones at the delegates, a development that forced the security operatives to shoot into the air to disperse the crowd.

But some of the hoodlums, who were also armed, responded with gunshots, leading to violence.

The hoodlums then destroyed some of the facilities at the stadium, injured over 10 persons and destroyed more than 20 cars, while delegates, as well as journalists, scampered for safety.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, DSP Moses Yamu, said he was not aware of the incident when contacted via phone on Friday.

 

Speaking to journalists at the stadium, the state Deputy Governor, Mr Benson Abounu, expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which the primary was conducted.

He wondered why the accreditation of delegates should become an issue among aspirants, resulting to delay of the exercise.