Kogi State Police Command has given the Spokesperson of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the state, Farouk Adejoh, 24 hours to substantiate his allegation against the command and the Commissioner of Police (CP), Bethrand Onuoha. Adejoh reportedly accused the CP of recruiting thugs in support of a certain political party or politician. 
  
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), William Aya, said the command might have no option than to invoke their operational processes to hold him to account for “his reckless and unsubstantiated claims”, should he fail to respond appropriately.  
  
According to Aya, the police command does not belong to any political party, as their responsibility is to protect life and property, a mandate they have protected without fear or favour.  
  
The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a reckless allegation against the Kogi police command and the CP in charge, claiming that the CP was responsible for recruiting and supporting thugs for a certain political party or personality. 
  
“The command is, hereby, giving Adejoh 24 hours to substantiate his allegations against the command and the CP or we might have no option than to invoke our operational processes to hold him to account for his reckless and unsubstantiated claims.” 

MEANWHILE, youth groups in Kogi across major political parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to ignore “the anti-democratic tendencies” of SDP and its governorship candidate, and concentrate on delivering on their mandates.
  
The youths, who staged a peaceful protest at the INEC office in Lokoja, said it was normal in election tribunal cases to ask for inspection of election materials, but that a situation in which INEC officials would continue to be intimidated in line with the alleged sinister motives of the SDP and its candidate would be resisted.  
 
They commended INEC on the conduct of the election, and asked the SDP to toe the path of integrity and accept the wishes of the people, which they demonstrated with their votes on November 11, 2023.
  
The various speakers at the protest described the threat by SDP to burn down INEC as a threat to democracy. PDP Youth Leader for Kabba Bunu Local Council, Oluwakayode Emmanuel, said: “For the first time in the history of Kogi, we had a very peaceful and orderly election that was violence-free.
  
“We commend our governorship candidate, Sen. Dino Melaye, who said he was not going to challenge the process at the tribunal. So, we call on INEC not to succumb to any intimidation by the SDP.”