Suspected political thugs on Thursday stormed a gathering of supporters and members of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos State, disrupting preparations for a town hall meeting scheduled to feature the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
The incident, which occurred around 11:00 a.m. at the Classique Event Centre along Kudirat Abiola Way, sent scores of attendees scampering for safety and triggered panic in the surrounding commercial district. Motorists plying Kudirat Abiola Way were forced to make abrupt U-turns to avoid the melee, while pedestrians fled the area.
According to witnesses at the scene, neither Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, nor Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State, had arrived at the venue when the attackers struck.
Shattered glass littered the floor of the disrupted venue, while several vehicles belonging to NDC members and supporters stood vandalised within the premises. One party supporter, speaking to Channels Television after sustaining a head injury, alleged that hoodlums armed with cutlasses invaded the area in an attempt to derail the gathering. He noted that additional NDC members were mobilised to resist the assailants, eventually forcing them to retreat.
“When I arrived out here, we reacted to our president without fear. They started fighting back, breaking our vehicles, and destroying property,” the injured supporter told Channels Television, adding that attendees retaliated in self-defence despite being outnumbered and warning of heightened tensions ahead of the 2027 elections.
Armed policemen and security patrol vehicles were subsequently deployed to the Classique Event Centre to restore order and prevent further escalation. Following the arrival of law enforcement, the atmosphere gradually stabilised, with NDC supporters seen dancing, singing, and defiantly raising the party’s flag as they awaited the arrival of their presidential ticket. The NDC governorship candidate in Lagos State, Funso Doherty, also arrived at the venue to assess the extent of the damage.
As of the time of filing this report, the exact circumstances behind the attack and the identities of the perpetrators remained unclear, with the Lagos State Police Command yet to release an official statement.
Thursday’s unrest adds to growing concerns over electoral violence raised by Obi and the NDC following reported hostilities against party supporters in Delta, Cross River, and Benue states—including a recent attack on Obi’s convoy in Calabar. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has previously denied any involvement in the incidents.
With the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, and governorship and state assembly polls set for February 6, 2027, Lagos remains a critical battleground. In the 2023 presidential election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Obi the winner in Nigeria’s commercial capital, where he defeated President Bola Tinubu, a former governor of the state.
