A Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has called on security agencies to invite a number of politicians for questioning on the explosion that rocked Kogi State prior to President Muhammadu Buhari’ visit last Thursday.

Comprising over 100 pro-democracy groups, the coalition also called on the political class to eschew acts of terrorism that could threaten smooth transition of power this year.

A blast had rocked old palace of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland near Okene Reference Hospital, one of the legacy projects scheduled for inauguration by the President.

The CSOs expressed reservations at utterances and activities of some politicians in the state, noting that Governor Yahaya Bello should rather be celebrated for executing several impactful projects.

They based their position on the aftermath of a parley convened in Lagos with more than 3,000 members and tagged: “2023 polls: Call for Caution.”

Co-conveners, who signed the communiqué issued at the end of the Lagos deliberation include: Executive Director, Centre for Public Accountability, Comrade Olufemi Lawson; Secretary, Northern Women For Democracy and Justice, Gift Yusuf; member, Steering Committee, Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Benjamin Emeka Igwe and National Vice Chairman, South West, African Democratic Congress, Razaq Eyiowuawi.

The organisations observed that the array of impactful infrastructural projects, some of which were commissioned by the President, had exposed the campaign of calumny against the governor as “simply unfounded.”

They said: “We would not even have taken an interest in Kogi State this much if the President’s visit had not exposed a case of deliberate misrepresentation of facts on ground by those who the people should regard as their enemies. We want to categorically state that the campaign of calumny against the state governor is unfounded and those who sponsored the dastardly act on the day the President visited the state, either remotely or directly, must be fished out and dealt with decisively.”

According to them, if these actions are not nipped in the bud, other politicians across Nigeria with same mindset would set the country on the brink of collapse even before the elections are conducted.