Angry protesters pelt Senator Lidani with stones

SENATOR representing Gombe South Senatorial District, Barrister Joshua Lidani narrowly escaped being lynched as angry protesters Monday attacked him with stones in Talasse town, headquarters of Balanga Local Government Area of Gombe state.

Senator Lidani was in Talasse to inspect classroom projects when hundreds of youth stormed the Palace of Bala Waja, Alhaji Danjuma Mohammed where he had gone to pay homage and held him hostage, inside.

A resident of the town who crave for anonymity told Newsmen in Gombe that the Senator had visited the town to supervise the level of a building project he awarded at the Community College of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Talasse when the angry youth attacked him.

The eyewitness said that “The youth stormed the palace when they learnt that Senator Lidani was in town demanding an explanation on what he was doing for them for the past seven years that he has been at the Senate representing the area”.

“They pelted stones at his motorcade and later laid siege at the Bala Waja’s palace waiting for him to come out and explain to them,” he said.

According to the witness, since his election in 2015, he never visited the town nor brought any constituency project to them, with the exception of the three blocks of classrooms that he built at the College.

Another resident of the town told our correspondent on phone that, it took a combined effort of soldiers and mobile policemen stationed in the town to be able to evacuate the Senator from the palace to safety.

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“A combined team of mobile policemen and soldiers who stormed the palace in seven trucks were able to escort him safely from the Bala Waja’s palace and he escaped unhurt,” he said.

Joshua Lidani who was a onetime Deputy Governor of the state was elected to represent Gombe South Senatorial District in the Senate under the opposition PDP.

While confirming the development in a phone interview with newsmen, Gombe State Commissioner of Police, Mr Tairu Shina Olukolu, confirmed the incident.

He said: “Senator Joshua Lidani was at the Bala Waja’s palace to felicitates with the Royal Father when some youths who alleged that they are unsatisfied with his representation, barricaded the palace and denied him exit demanding an explanation from him on his representation at the Senate”.

The Police boss added that “in order to avoid break down of law and order, security operatives were dispatched to the palace and they have successfully escorted him out of the town unhurt”.

Tairu Olukolu said that after the incident normalcy has since returned to the town with people going about their normal activities.