The Gombe State government and a former governor of the state, Senator Danjuma Goje, have continued to trade blame over a clash between two rival political supporters which led to the death of five persons when the convey of Senator Goje arrived the state earlier on Friday.
The state government condemned the incidence which disrupted vehicular movements for a few hours, describing it as a breach of peace in the state capital.
But the former governor and senator representing Gombe Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly who narrated how the Aide-De-Camp of the incumbent governor, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, allegedly blocked and attacked his convoy while on his way to attend the wedding of his grand-daughter, Fatima Abdullahi Musa in Gombe town.
Goje, who chairs the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, in a statement by his media aide, Lilian Nworie, said he arrived at Gombe from Abuja, via Gombe Airport in Lawanti, peacefully until the governor’s aides blocked the road.
“Distinguished senator’s trip was peaceful until when the governor’s aides including his aide-de-camp blocked the road. For two hours, they unleashed terror on Senator Goje and those in his convoy.
“It is unfortunate that one life was lost and many cars vandalised including the senator’s vehicle. They smashed the windscreen. All efforts to make the governor’s ADC remove the blockade yielded no result as he insisted that he got instructions from the above that the former governor should not be allowed into the town,” the media aide said.
She said the governor’s driver, Aminu Hula, and Gombe State APC Youth Leader, Kawu Lero have been arrested by the State Police Command.
“They have been arrested but the aide-de-camp who led the people to attack the former governor had since returned to those who sent him. The aide-de-camp said he was acting based on an order from the above. In this case, it is his boss, Gombe State governor,” she said.
She said the former governor as a peace-loving leader of the state has urged his teeming supporters to be calm and law-abiding and called for an independent investigation of the matter.”
• Gombe govt accuses Goje of instigating violence
Meanwhile, the Gombe State Government condemned in the strongest terms, the breach of peace in the state capital, allegedly caused by Goje’s visit.
In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Julius Ishaya Lepes, the government said the former governor, “in his characteristic manner, was alleged to have mobilized thugs from various LGAs armed to their teeth under the pretext of accompanying him from the airport into the state capital for reasons best known to him.”
The commissioner recalled that during the last Eid-el-Kabir Sallah celebration, “the same person sponsored some thugs that threw caution into the wind and went on a rampage, leading to loss of two lives.”
He maintained that Senator Goje has continued to threaten the peace of the North-Eastern state.
“While sympathising with families of the five people killed and those who sustained various degrees of injuries, government commends the security agencies for their timely intervention in bringing the ugly situation under control.”
He said Governor Yahaya as the Chief Security officer of the state will not renege on his responsibilities and therefore will do everything necessary to protect the lives and property of the citizenry.
He also assured that government will make sure that perpetrators of the unfortunate act, no matter how highly placed are brought to book.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.