Tension As Political Thugs Beat Up APC’s Tonye Cole, Beke In Port Harcourt [Photo]

The Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tonye Cole, and the Chairman of the party, Chief Emeka Beke, have been reportedly beaten up by suspected political thugs in Port Harcourt.

Supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the APC  had on Monday clashed in Port Harcourt, Rivers State chapter.

Naija News learnt that the incident saw one person sustain a gunshot injury after being hit by a stray bullet.

Members of the ruling party, PDP had earlier protested in front of the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) along Aba Road in Port Harcourt.

Recall that Friday, INEC had told Cole and his team to come to the office to pick the Certified True Copies of documents used in the conduct and declaration of the just concluded governorship and state house of assembly elections in the state to enable the APC file process at the tribunal.

But, Monday, hundreds of supporters of the PDP stormed the INEC office demanding that the electoral umpire release CTC of the documents of the election to them.

The PDP protesters blocked off all access points to the INEC office, insisting that they won the election and should be given copies of the documents.

However, while the PDP supporters were still protesting, the Guber candidate of the APC, Cole, Chairman of the party, Beke and a few other candidates of the party arrived.

The APC chieftains, who had arrived in the area on an alleged invitation of the INEC were stopped from accessing the commission’s office by the protesters.

Some of the youths, however, took the moment to attack the APC chiefs, chasing them away from the INEC facility.

This resulted in heavy shooting, grounding all activities as armed youths took the area hostage with gunfire.

The thugs who shot sporadically into the air allegedly moved freely from the former office of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) opposite INEC, through the Polo Club, and then into the Government Reserved Area.