The Social Democratic Party (SDP), has raised serious concern over what it described as a “dangerous dimension” being introduced into politics as a result of its members that appeared as witnesses and testified before the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja are being violently attacked with their houses and properties burnt.
National Chairman of the SDP, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam told journalists in Abuja on Friday that immediately after the testimonies by the witnesses at the Tribunal which sat on March 28, 2024, there massive and coordinated attacks on their lives and properties as well as those of their families and source of livelihoods.
Gabam listed the attacks to include; “The house and shops of Mr. Galadima vandalised and wares brought out and put on fire at Oziokutu, the properties of Hon. Agomi were brought out of his house and set on fire, the items in the Pharmacy of Hon. Mumuni Time at Idoji – Inike junction were destroyed and burnt and the family house of Hon Mustapha Otinawu at Ahogede, Idozumi attacked and destroyed.
Others according to the SDP National Chairman included; “The rented apartment of Hon. Agomi Yusuf at Okengwe was attacked and his properties carted outside and burnt, the house of Mr. Dahiru Orietesu at Orietesu was attacked, properties brought out and destroyed while his pregnant wife was badly beaten, and presently hospitalised,” he alleged.
The SDP therefore called on the Inspector General of Police to as a matter of urgent importance arrest the blatant threats to peace and security in Kogi State which have escalated beyond acceptable limits.
The Party reminded the IGP of its earlier letter dated 26 February 2024 titled; “BLATANT THREATS TO PEACE AND SECURITY IN KOGI STATE CAN ESCALATE,” stressing that sadly, the situation in Kogi State has seriously escalated.
The SDP further said; “In our letter under reference, we called the attention of the IGP to the emergent threats to peace and security in Kogi State which portend significant dangers of national dimensions and requested your-good-self for swift and effective intervention to restore law and order and security to avert unwarranted escalation within the State or to national disaster.
“We reported that a group of persons have carried out attacks on SDP members and incited the public to attack them. The group also threatened the safety and lives of our party officials publicly including through radio announcements warning them to take heed at the risk of their lives and those of their families.
“The group has been daring and brazen about its readiness to attack to the level that it took its heinous and dastardly campaign to a Government licensed Radio station, Jatto 102.7 FM Radio Station, to threaten SDP members warning them not to testify in election petition tribunal or they will deal with them and their family members.
“We reminded the IGP that a group of people had unleashed so much terror in Kogi State before and the after the November 2023 election resulting in destruction of the SDP Gubernatorial Secretariat in Lokoja in July 2023, and burning down of the same Secretariat in August 2023 as well as caused so much mayhem and reckless attacks including on the Election Petition Tribunal that the Federal Government had to shift the sitting of the Tribunal from Lokoja in Kogi State to Abuja.
“We reported that in spite of the shifting of the Tribunal operations to Abuja, the group has continued to use quasi-security bodies to unleash havoc and violence in Kogi State with deadly focus on members of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
“On February 26, 2024, we urged the IGP to note that there are proven threats to the safety and security of our Tribunal witnesses and requested the intervention of the Police to investigate and curb the unlawful and illegal activities and other illegal quasi-security groups in Kogi State and bring them to justice and to call to order the owners and management of Jatto 102.7 FM Radio and to stop them from further making obnoxious announcements and inciting the public to violence.
“On March 28, 2024, one month after, we have noted with great sadness that the threats to peace and security in Kogi State have indeed escalated.
“As a responsive and responsible political party, we hereby wish to humbly inform the IGP that the threats to the safety and security of our members in Kogi State are indeed real and dangerous.
“We respectfully enjoin the IGP to please intervene before the situation gets out of hand. We have concluded plans to book a physical appointment with the Inspector General of Police IGP to pay our complaints before him again for further action
“The last petition we wrote to him in February this year about our intelligence report on the planned attacks on our members which we still have the acknowledgement copy, he directed the Kogi State Commissioner of Police to investigate out case and the Commissioner directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police DCP (Political) to handle the matter
“Rather than to do the needful, the DCP wrote to invite the Party’s National Secretary to come down to Lokoja, Kogi State and substantiate our claim
“At this juncture, we are calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to act fast and do the needful on the Kogi State insecurity matter so as not to set the State on fire. We have been calling our people to order, we knew what we went through and now that the case is at the Tribunal for adjudication, they should allow the judiciary to complete its assignment and should stop attacking our witnesses,” he said.
The National Secretary and National Legal Adviser of the SDP, Dr Olu Agunloye and Mr Aderemi Abimbola respectively also displayed various photo evidences of the attacks against their Party members before the media.
