Ekiti Elections: Heavy Gunshots Cause Panic Near Government House

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According to a report by SaharaReporters, there was serious tension on Friday evening as heavy gunshots rented the air around the government house, in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital. 

The shooting came hours before the residents of the state would go out today, Saturday, to vote in the Ekiti State governorship election exercise.

Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Segun Oni of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Bisi Kolawole of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are the leading candidates in the election.

As the gunshots boomed, a helicopter belonging to the Nigeria Police Force was also sighted hovering in the sky.

However, a source claimed that the shooting was coming from a police station, along the old government house road in the state. 

The police authorities had earlier deployed anti-riot policemen to mount strategic locations in the state for a “stop and search exercise”.

SaharaReporters earlier reported that residents of Ekiti rushed for last-minute trade and financial activities on Friday.

Checks around the town by SaharaReporters had showed that residents were making last-minute rush to buy items needed so as not to be affected by the restriction of movement on the day of the exercise.

Long queues had been seen at some of ATM points within bank road, where most financial institutions in the city are located.

“We don’t know what will happen, the event in the last one week is not good at all; clashes between two of the major political parties has led to the death of three people,” a staff of the Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti who identified himself as Segun had told SaharaReporters.

“Some of these politicians are so desperate and as such anything could happen. I won’t even be voting tomorrow, I’ll be at home with my family, I know there won’t be light, so I have bought fuel to power my generator, from there, I’ll be monitoring the poll from my sitting room.”