Hell was let loose in Itaji Ekiti in the Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State on Saturday, following a bloody clash between supporters of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the state.

While the APC blamed the SDP for attacking its members passing through the community, the opposition party claimed they were attacked by supporters of the ruling party.

The Director of Media, Biodun Oyebanji Campaign Organisation of the APC, Taiwo Olatunbsun, condemned the alleged violent attack on APC members in Itaji-Ekiti on Saturday, which he said “resulted in the killing of one APC member and many others sustaining severe injuries”.

Olatubosun said, “Some APC members are at present hospitalised where medical personnel are battling to save their lives following life-threatening injuries they received in the attack carried out by SDP thugs.

“The Oyebanji Campaign warns Oni and his supporters against further attacks on APC members. The warning to SDP and its candidate became imperative against the background of similar murderous conduct in the past when Oni allegedly deployed thugs to attack opposition members in his alleged desperate bid to win governorship rerun poll in 2009.”

He added, “The APC campaign procession in Ekiti North Senatorial District was peaceful earlier in the day until it was disrupted by SDP thugs. It was also reported that the attack on the deceased was carried out by violent thugs who arrived in one Toyota Hilux and Tacoma vehicles.”

However, the Director of Media, Segun Oni Campaign Organisation, Jackson Adebayo, who said APC supporters launched an unprovoked attack on SDP members, said, “We (the SDP) were at the palace at Itaji Ekiti where Segun Oni was meeting with obas in the local government area.”

Adebayo said, “Some people were outside the palace; suddenly, we saw about five buses loaded with transporters being used as political thugs by the APC. They started shooting sporadically. We initially thought they were shooting to scare us, people were running helter-skelter.

“They were also trying to force their way to where Segun Oni was, maybe in an attempt to assassinate him. That was when they were repelled by security agencies, who coincidentally were passing by. They escaped; unfortunately, one of the thugs missed their vehicle because he fell down. We interrogated him and he said they were agents of the APC.

“They were the ones that attacked us; nobody beat the one that missed their vehicle. He was already injured from the fall. It was later that people said one of them died,” he said.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Sunday Abutu, said, “There was a clash earlier around Itaji Ekiti between members of two parties and investigation to unravel what transpired and the number of casualties, as well as the possible arrest of culprits, has commenced.

Abutu, who said normalcy had since been restored to the area, promised to give an update as soon as further information was available.

Earlier on Saturday, Adebayo had in a “press statement”, decried alleged incessant attacks on SDP members in different parts of the state by hoodlums believed to be APC supporters.

The SOCO spokesperson, who said members of the party were being attacked at will and the attendant destruction of property, said even the convoy of the party’s governorship candidate, Chief Oni, and the vehicle of his running mate, Ladi Owolabi, were not spared.