Suspected political thugs disrupted a meeting of the African Democratic Congress in Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State.
It was gathered that the meeting, organised by members of the party in the council area, was abruptly halted after a group of youths stormed the venue and began destroying items arranged for the gathering.
Eyewitnesses said the hoodlums dismantled canopies, chairs, loudspeakers and other equipment set up for the meeting, forcing party supporters and organisers to flee the scene.
A video circulating on social media showed the attackers forcefully scattering the arrangements while shouting that the party would not be allowed to operate in the area.
In the footage, a man believed to be leading the group was heard ordering others to destroy the setup, claiming that the party had not been active in the area while other political groups were working in the community.
Confirming the incident yesterday, the spokesman for the Cross River State Police Command, Sunday Eitokpah, described the perpetrators as hoodlums and said officers were deployed to restore calm in the area.
Eitokpah stated that the disruption occurred shortly before the meeting commenced, adding that the situation was brought under control to prevent it from escalating into a larger crisis.
He said, “The hoodlums came from nowhere and scattered the canopies, chairs and sound systems arranged for the meeting.”
According to him, police officers and tactical teams were immediately mobilised to the scene. He noted that no arrest had been made as of the time of filing this report due to the volatile nature of the situation.
