Guber Polls: Elders Caution Against Rising Insecurity In Kogi State
Kogi East Elders Forum has called on the Nigerian Government to pay attention to the growing insecurity in Kogi state, ahead of the November 11 governorship poll.
The Spokesman for the group, Ali Ocheni made the call at a news conference, organised by the forum in Abuja on Tuesday.
Ocheni said that ”the harassment of citizens by sponsored thugs, security agents and “other means and by whoever must stop forthwith.”
He said that campaign offices and billboards were being vandalised, alongside property allegedly belonging to members of the opposition political parties.
He cited the “extra judicial” killing of one Kabiru Bala (aka Okwo) for allegedly changing political camp, barely few weeks after his hotel was razed down by suspected political thugs.
According to him, “an innocent woman, Mrs Atima Abdullahi, was incidentally murdered in cold blood during the attack on Bala.”
“We call on the Nigeria Government to pay attention to these going on in Kogi State because any breakdown of law and order would not augur well for Nigeria.
“For the purpose of a reminder, Kogi shares boundaries with 10 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
“It has the highest number of boundaries with other states in the federation.
“Kogi is the southern gateway to the FCT.
“No one wants to imagine the chaos a breakdown of law and order in this state will have on the nation as a whole.
“We therefore call on the Nigerian Government to ensure a level playing field for all contestants in the election through the appropriate mechanisms,” the forum said.
It further said that petitions on the ugly political developments in the state had been sent to all relevant government offices, demanding quick actions to rescue Kogi.
It alleged that certain heads of security agencies in the state had been compromised, hence demanded their immediate redeployment out of Kogi State.
NAN/ Mercy Chukwudiebere
