Police disagree with LP governorship candidate Rhodes-Vivour over alleged violent attack in Epe

The Labour Party governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, says his entourage was attacked and fired at during his campaign stop in Epe. But the police have said they were yet to see evidence of the alleged incident.

Speaking on Arise TV on Sunday, Mr Rhodes-Vivour described the incident as an attempt to assassinate him.

“There’s been a lot of threats, we have gotten a lot of intel about the potential assassination on my life,” he said.

“Yesterday in Itapo, Epe, we had Honourable Wale Oluwo and Noheem (Balogun) from the PDP working with us and they were also shot at in Epe yesterday.”

Mr Oluwo, the candidate of the Boot Party for the 18 March governorship election, recently endorsed the LP candidate.

He is a former commissioner in the administration of former governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

How we were attacked

Mr Rhodes-Vivour said as his convoy was moving out, “a lot of young men came out and tried to block the road.

“And obviously we cannot go in because we had quite a lot of force with us in terms of police. And it was very important that we do not show any force because what will then happen is as they were trying to propagandise Gbadebo to Chinedu and they will now say I came in there trying to take over Epe and I am using guns and all of that.

“So we had the police go in there and talk to and try to allay everything. And DSS was also very helpful in that situation to neutralise the situation, but they didn’t shoot at us. And they did try to intimidate.

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“They (DSS) went ahead and took me down from the top of the bus and put me back down and they said there’s a threat in front and we’re going to neutralise the threat. And then as we went in there, we heard gunshots.”

Speaking on his Twitter handle, Mr Rhodes-Vivour said that despite the attack, the campaign rally was “great.”

“Yesterday’s rally was great, we connected and saw supporters in Epe. We were attacked but we are all safe & secure,” he tweeted.

Police

Banjanmi Hundeyin, the police spokesperson, did not answer a phone call from PREMIUM TIMES.

He, however, told Daily Trust that the police were yet to see any evidence of the attack on supporters of the Labour Party at Epe.

“The police are not saying that they are lying, but like the build-up to the Presidential and National Assembly, we saw videos of attacks and those who had been injured on social media,” he was quoted as saying.

“There was no such evidence when the police visited the scene. We are still yet to see anyone come up to say that he or she was injured in the attack.

“So for now there is no evidence to show any such attack,” he said.