Plateau PDP crisis: Sheriff factional chairman and publicity secretary arraign for impersonation

PLATEAU State factional Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Mr Gyang Badung and Publicity Secretary Emmanuel Manchang loyal to the National Chairman of the party Senator Ali Modu Sheriff has been arraigned at the Magistrate Court in Jos for impersonation.

It would be recalled that the faction loyal to the National Chairman on Tuesday conveyed a stakeholders meeting involving ward and local government party officials, past Councilors among others and passed a vote of confidence on the leadership of the National Chairman of the party, Senator Modu Sheriff.

The state factional chairman, Gyang Badung at the meeting also affirmed that his leadership was fully recognized by the National Secretariat of the party adding that the DSS, Police and other security agencies had been notified about his leadership and directed Hon Damishi Sango led state executive to vacate the state secretariat with immediate effect.

In the suit filed against the duo of Badung and Manchang at the Magistrate Court JMDB Jos on Thursday,  the complainant, Peoples Democratic Party posited that following its congress that took place in 2016, Hon Damishi Sango and Hon John Telpak emerged as state Chairman and Publicity Secretary respectively.

The Complainant stated that the two accused persons have been parading themselves as chairman and publicity secretary of the PDP Plateau State chapter in the media houses and other places especially Unity FM in Jos North local government adding that the accused persons have been doing a lot of things to disturb public peace by instigating members of the complainant against the leadership of complainant.

Counsel to the complainant, Gyang Zi therefore declared that the action of the accused persons amount to conspiracy,  impersonation, criminal intimidation and intentional provocation to disturb public peace and therefore stated that any attempt to grant them bail will further aggravate the situation since one of the charges against them was criminal intimidation.

However, Counsel to the accused persons, Joan Gwom argued against saying that the accused persons were people of integrity, honesty and known to be law abiding citizens adding that granting them bail will not cause any breach of peace in any form.

The Magistrate, Tongret Kparbong therefore granted the accused persons bail in the sum of N5 million each with a plot of land adding that bailiff must be civil servant on level 12 and above. She therefore adjourned the case to 31st May 2017 for hearing.