Kogi Youths Masses Advocacy Group on Sunday sought the intervention of the United State Government, the National Peace Committee and the Inspector General of Police over the alleged attacks on opposition parties by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The group said the members of the ruling party had been causing mayhem capable of disrupting the forthcoming election in the state, particularly, in the eastern senatorial district.
According to the spokesman of the organisation, Mallam Ahmed Suleiman, political thugs suspected to be loyalists of the APC had hatched the plot to inflict injuries, cause violence and to disrupt campaign rallies of the opposition political parties, particularly the Action Democratic Congress (ADC).
He described the serial attacks on Dr Victor Adoji, the Kogi east senatorial candidate of the ADC as unwarranted
Ahmed wanted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, political parties and other critical stakeholders in the election to take note of the attacks on Adoji and his supporters, an action he alleged was geared towards causing mayhem and to ultimately disrupt elections in the district.
He explained that last two weeks at Ejule in Ofu LGA while Adoji and his supporters were holding consultation, some people suspected to be working for the APC attacked the venue with sophisticated weapons shooting sporadically and in the melee scores were wounded, canopies, chairs were destroyed and vandalized.
Ahmed added that last week Adoji’s supporters in Anyigba who were holding their meeting were also chased away by the gun throttling hoodlums, while ADC members in Ogugu, Olamaboro LGA were repeatedly harassed, intimidated by some officials of the ruling APC government.
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Ahmed said: “In the light of the harassment, intimidation and physical attacks on the ADC candidate and members by elements of the ruling APC, we call on the security agencies and all lovers of democracy to address the ugly situation before it deteriorates, we are also appealing to political parties to be mindful of the excesses of their supporters against their opponents.
“We also want to call on the international community, the security agencies to place emphasis on the forthcoming election in Kogi State, with emphasis on Kogi East Senatorial District, with the view to safeguarding lives and properties, and towards a peaceful, credible poll.
But the director general of media and publicity to the state governor, Kingsley Fanwo, said the APC and the state government didn’t believe in thuggery, describing the allegation as unfounded.
He said the government ran by the opposition in the state raised thugs and sponsored some of their thugs into the House of Assembly.
He said Government is prepared to deal with any thug or their sponsors who may wish to return the state to “the dark days in which the keys to Government House were in the hands of thugs”, assuring the people of the state of Governor Bello’s readiness to guarantee a peaceful state before, during and after the general elections”.
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