Ekiti State Government has confirmed that the convoy of the first lady of the state, Bisi Fayemi, was attacked during a protest by students of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) on Tuesday.
The protest which began peacefully was allegedly hijacked by hoodlums.
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Mrs Fayemi was in Oye local government in continuation of her community engagement and advocacy tour of the state.
She had commenced Tuesday’s tour from Moba local government and had visited Ilejemeje local government before arriving in Oye-Ekiti for the last leg of the tour.
The students, however, had earlier in the day taken over major streets in the town, protesting against the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) over power outage in the area.
Ekiti government said it was not petitioned nor alerted of the students’ plight prior to the protest.
Commissioner for Information, Tourism, and Values Orientation, Muyiwa Olumilua, in a statement on Wednesday, said the first lady’s convoy was attacked with several vehicles vandalised, leaving many people, including journalists, injured.
The statement also said: “Those injured during the attack have been given first aid treatment, while some are still receiving treatment in the hospital.
“Ekiti State Government has been informed that there might have been casualties recorded during the incident. We await more details of this sad development from the school authorities. Nothing is worth the loss of any life.
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“As a responsible government, it is on record that the State Government has been engaging the electricity company (BEDC) on how to improve the power situation in parts of the State, long before this unfortunate incident, and promise to continue to engage them on the improvement of their service delivery to Ekiti State.
“The general public is hereby advised to go about their normal activities as the situation is now under control.”
