Masari laments stoning of government officials at public events

• DIG urges dialogue with constituencies

Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State yesterday lamented the stoning of elected office holders at public events, saying the development signalled a bad omen for the country.

This followed reports of booing and stoning of some elected office holders in Katsina and Niger states recently. He however, called on the police and other related security bodies to put an end to such occurrences.

He said this when the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), in charge of North-West zone, Maigari Dikko paid him a courtesy visit in his office.Masari said public office holders should be treated with respect and decorum at political gatherings just as he expressed concerns over social media users, particularly bloggers, for using the platform for character assassination on public officials.

He, therefore, called on the police to check the excesses of such individuals for a better society and assured that his administration would work with the police for a safe and peaceful state and for the establishment of new area commands.

In his response, Dikko said the Inspector General of Police (IGP) had passed a vote of confidence on the state’s amnesty programme for cattle rustlers.Dikko, who doubles as the DIG Logistics and Supplies for the police force, called on Masari to establish a police trust fund adding that it would serve as an alternative source of funding for effective policing across the country.

Meanwhile, he urged members of the National Assembly to engage in meaningful dialogue with their constituencies to address areas of possible misunderstanding.He pointed out that the current political misunderstanding between senators and their constituencies can only be resolved through dialogue rather than fisticuffs.

Dikko added that failure to fully address the political misunderstanding could overheat the polity and lead to possible breakdown of law and order and stressed that dialogue and not stoning senators would address any challenge.

Earlier, the state Commissioner of Police, Umar Abdullahi called for the deployment of more police officers and men to strengthen the security apparatus in the state, saying the command has a shortfall of over 3,000 personnel.

He said the command recently arrested a syndicate of human traffickers and their agents numbering about 22 and another syndicate of drug traffickers with 488 rolls of tramadol.The DIG, who was on an official visit to the state, paid a courtesy call on the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabir Usman and Governor Masari.