March 9 polls: PDP candidate calls for security beef up in Lokoja

ALHAJI Suleiman Babadoko, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 9 State House of Assembly election has called on security agencies to beef up operation in and around Lokoja.

The candidate made the call in Lokoja while addressing a rally on Tuesday.

Babadoko, who will represent Lokoja 1 State Constituency in the election, said Lokoja, the capital of Kogi needed to be effectively secured ahead of the election following plans by some people to cause mayhem in his Ward on the election day.

Babadoko, who is seeking a return to the state House of Assembly, particularly urged the police and the Directorate of the,e State Security (DSS) not to treat the issue with levity.

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He recalled the crisis that engulfed Lokoja on Aug.11, 2018 when thugs in fake police army uniforms attacked innocent citizens during by-election to fill the vacant Lokoja/Koto Federal Constituency seat was underway.

He stressed that the incident should not be allowed to repeat itself on March 9.

“Three persons were killed during the mayhem.

“The same elements behind that incident are the ones planning to unleash a fresh attack on the people in their bid to win the election on March 9, at all cost,’’ he said.

He said that special security measure should be put in place to protect the lives and property of citizens living in Ward A area of Lokoja.

Babadoko said the measure became necessary because many of the residents in the Ward were non-indigenes from other parts of the country.

He also called on the electorate in the Constituency not to succumb to intimidation but to come out en masse on March 9 to vote for candidates of their choice.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Governorship election will be conducted in the state November 2019 due to the extension of the tenure of former Governor of the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, by a court.