Sunday, February 1, 2026 - Activities marking the defection of members of the Labour Party, LP, in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State to the African Democratic Congress, ADC, were violently disrupted on Saturday after unidentified hoodlums invaded the venue.
The event, jointly organised by LP and ADC to publicly
acknowledge the movement of party members, was first scheduled to hold at the
LP secretariat in Idimu.
However, chaos erupted when more than 100 suspected thugs
reportedly stormed the premises, forcing party members and officials to flee.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers, some armed with knives,
canes and other dangerous objects, assaulted individuals they encountered
during the invasion.
The assailants were also heard chanting hostile slogans,
declaring that LP and ADC were not welcome in Lagos State.
Several party members sustained injuries in the process,
while party property, including furniture and flags, was vandalised.
Despite the disruption, officials of both parties quickly
relocated the programme to an alternative venue, the Eco Centre Event Hall in
Egbeda, in a bid to continue the ceremony.
Speaking on the incident, the LP Chairman in Alimosho, Mr
Olanrewaju Olushola, popularly known as Heritage, condemned the attack,
describing it as unprovoked and alarming, especially with the 2027 general
elections approaching.
“What is most painful is that most of my members sustained
varying degrees of wounds. This is in spite of the hoodlums going into our
party secretariat in Alimosho and destroying our furniture and flags,” he said.
Olushola clarified that the defection itself had already
taken place, stressing that Saturday’s gathering was merely a symbolic ceremony
to inform the public of their decision.
According to him, nearly all LP members in Alimosho,
including the party’s leadership structure, had collectively agreed to move to
the ADC.
Also speaking, the party’s Alimosho Secretary, Mr Moses
Akujuobi, explained that plans for an open defection ceremony had earlier been
halted by the police, who cited the absence of formal approval.
He said the organisers had reached out to the Area M
Commander, ACP Abaniwonda, who reportedly informed them that only the
Commissioner of Police could authorise political events in the state.
“Incidentally, we could not reach the CP, but we informed
the DSS, after which we went ahead since it wasn’t a rally but a quiet
ceremony,” Akujuobi said.
He added that the situation became more tense upon arrival
at the initial venue.
“When we got to the venue this morning, we were shocked to
see police vans with heavily armed policemen. They informed us that we cannot
hold the event and referred us to the police commissioner.
“While we were at it, the hoodlums besieged the place and
began to beat people, leading to our deserting the venue,” he explained.
Akujuobi said party officials subsequently contacted members
by phone to proceed to the second venue in Egbeda, where the programme resumed
briefly.
“We, however, began to contact our members through phones to
move to the second venue, which is the Eco Event Centre, and everyone witnessed
what took place here.
“The hoodlums got wind of our second venue and equally
attacked us, beating up our members again,” he added.
He noted that the decision to defect to the ADC was driven
by internal leadership challenges within the Labour Party and protracted legal
disputes affecting the party.
Shortly after the hoodlums vacated the second venue, several
police vans carrying armed officers reportedly arrived at the location.
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