Police hunt for attackers of Kogi REC’s residence
02 December 2023 |
4:16 am
Kogi State Commissioner of Police, CP Bethrand C. Onuoha, has ordered for a thorough investigation into the attack on the residence of the Kogi State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Gabriel Longpet, in the early hours of yesterday.
• APC, SDP Trade Blames Over Incident
Kogi State Commissioner of Police, CP Bethrand C. Onuoha, has ordered for a thorough investigation into the attack on the residence of the Kogi State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Gabriel Longpet, in the early hours of yesterday.
This was as the Kogi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), yesterday, traded tackles over the incident.
While the APC accused the SDP of being behind the attack and called for the arrest of the governorship candidate of the party, Muritala Yakubu Ajaka, the latter denied any involvement in the incident.
In a statement yesterday, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, SP William Ovye Aya, confirmed that, “the Command received distress today 1/12/2023 at about 0311hrs on the attack by unknown armed hoodlums who stormed the quarters of the REC and started shooting sporadically.”
He said the police guards on duty at the residence engaged the hoodlums in a gun duel and denied them access to the premises.
“Meanwhile, the Sienna Bus they came with was seen burnt to ashes at the frontage of the house,” the statement added.
Aya said the Commissioner of Police immediately deployed a reinforcement Team of Tactical Operatives to the scene while trailing the hoodlums.
He added that the CP commended the guards on duty for their bravery and diligence.
“The Commissioner while condemning the attacks, tasked the Deputy Commissioner of Police in-charge of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to commence investigation with a view to apprehending the perpetrators and bringing them to deserved justice.
“The CP, while assuring the good people of Kogi State of the Command’s unwavering commitment to guarantee the safety of lives and property of all law abiding citizens, urged them to collaborate with the security agencies by way of volunteering credible and timely information on the activities of criminal elements in the state to enable prompt and commensurate response,” the statement added.
The Kogi State APC Governorship Campaign Council, in its reaction to the incident, urged the police, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies to immediately arrest what it described as the slide to anarchy in the state by arresting Ajaka and his supporters, who allegedly masterminded the attack on the residence of the REC.
The campaign council said the attack was perpetrated days after it alerted the nation of the plans of SDP thugs to attack INEC, adding that “they have finally done their worst by attacking the residence of the Kogi REC, engaging security agents in a fierce gun battle and eventually burning down some vehicles in the residence and in the area.”
The Director of Media and Publicity/Spokesperson for the Campaign Council, Kingsley Fanwo, who briefed journalists yesterday, added: “The same arsonists also had an attempt to burn down the Kogi State Government House foiled by our eagle-eye security agents. The same attempt was foiled at the State APC Secretariat in Lokoja.”
According to the APC, the SDP in the state and their collaborators were desperate to destroy some documents in INEC to cover the heist they committed in Kogi East where they allegedly killed APC supporters “and drove them out of collation centres to forge the results that were eventually trumped by the massive votes of Kogites for the Governor-elect.”
The campaign council alleged that the SDP candidate and his collaborators were attempting to corrupt certain documents in INEC before handing them to their legal team.
“We have no problem allowing legal teams to access documents and materials. It is the norm. But we won’t allow any desperate blood thirsty politician tamper with the true verdict of the Kogi people,” Fanwo declared.
He noted that “the bold-face criminality being perpetrated by the defeated SDP candidate and his violent gang of criminals was as a result of the lack of consequences over the gruesome killing of an APC supporter, Khadijat, at Kotonkarfe by agents of the SDP.”
The party added: “Now is the time to arrest Muritala Yakubu Ajaka before he throws Kogi into a state of anomie. Democracy is the expression of the wishes of the people. Those wishes have been expressed and no amount of bullets can silence the voice of the ballot. We are calling on the police, DSS and other security agencies to immediately arrest the slide to anarchy by arresting Muritala Yakubu Ajaka and his co-swimmers in the pool of violence. We have cautioned our supporters to remain calm and the call will be more effective if the anarchists are immediately apprehended and prosecuted.”
Debunking the allegations via a statement yesterday in Lokoja, the Director, New Media, Muri/Sam Campaign Organisation, David Ijele, stated: “We strongly condemn the assassination attempt on the INEC Resident Commissioner for Kogi state, Dr. Hale Gabriel Longpet, which took place in Lokoja at approximately 2:00am this morning, December 1, 2023.
“Election should not be treated as a war, nor should it be a matter of life and death. If the election was won fairly and transparently, then the legal process should be allowed to run its course without interference. However, it is unacceptable for thugs, in their high numbers yesterday, to be subject to fake protests. On no account should forensic teams not be allowed to do their jobs.
“We are grateful for the timely intervention of the Army, as the man and his family could have been wiped out overnight. The attackers also burnt his vehicles and took other valuables. This kind of behaviour is not acceptable in a democratic society.”
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