Udom’s rally ends in bloody riot

The less affected part of Nsikak Edouk Avenue, Uyo in the night of Tuesday, 21 Oct, 2014. At the right hand side of the road, you can see two police trucks.

By Effiong Ekong, Uyo

The rally in Uyo today by Udom Emmanuel, former secretary to Akwa Ibom State government, to signal his declaration of intent to contest the governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party has snowballed into a bloody riot. As we report, the riot, staged by rented crowds hired to give the declaration a semblance of significance, is spreading along Nsikak Eduok Avenue axis of the city where Udom’s campaign office is located.

The disaffected crowds, made up mostly of women and youths, are said to have gone berserk when people who brought them to the rally on a promise of attendance fee, abandoned them at the end of the rally. The rented crowd then pelted Udom’s campaign officials with bottles and other missiles.

They also ransacked Udom’s campaign office, setting it on fire. A large a number of vehicles has been vandalised. It was a running battle between the police who fired, apparently into the air to scare off the rampaging mob, who were shouting, as they retreated, “Give us our money; Udom is wrong,” in reference to the campaign slogan, “Udom is right.”

Each member of the rented crowd was promised N2000 appearance fee, in addition to transport to and fro the rally, according to sources close to those organisers of the ill-fated jamboree. Police have cordoned off Udom Emmanuel’s office to prevent more damage.