Some Katsina State residents, suspected of being political thugs, attacked Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi, who was in the state for a presidential campaign rally.
The attack was confirmed by Obi’s campaign team on Tuesday evening, with the hoodlums pelting the presidential campaign convoy with stones.
Obi’s team, which has been traveling from state to state, arrived in Katsina on Monday.
Obi had courted voters by promising to address insecurity if elected.
Diran Onifade, Head of Media, Obi/Datti Presidential Campaign Council, said in a statement on his behalf that the attack on Obi and his campaign team was planned by desperate politicians.
Katsina is the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Our candidate had met with women in a townhall and then held a hugely successful Rally at the Muhammad Dikko Stadium. However, on his way to the airport, hoodlums attacked the car our candidate was riding in with heavy stones from his drivers’ side causing substantial damage to the vehicle.
“To the glory of God, Mr Obi and other occupants of the car were unhurt. Subsequently another set of thugs also threw stones outside the stadium which damaged several vehicles including that of our official stage crew,” Onifade said.
According to him, the two incidents taken together make the team to suspect that the attacks may have been premeditated at the behest of desperate politicians who had been deluding themselves with the false claim that they had the northwest in their pockets, but are now shocked by the show of force of the “Obidient movement” in the region.
While commending the people of Katsina who came out en masse to support their campaign on Monday, he urged security agencies to investigate the attacks to forestall future occurrences.