violence terrorism massacre
violence terrorism massacre
Political Thugs Attack Governor’s Convoy after
Presidential Rally
A statement read at a news briefing by Bala Dan Abu, Senior
Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Governor on
Thursday February 7, 2019.
As you are already aware, today’s Presidential campaign flag-off
of the All Progressives Congress in Jalingo, Taraba State, ended on
a tragic note. Thugs hired by the APC leaders in the state turned
the event into an opportunity to launch violent attacks on members
and supporters of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP. In the
process, several lives were lost.
Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku’s convoy was also attacked on its
way out of the airport where the Governor, his Deputy, Engineer
Haruna Manu and other senior members of government had gone to see
off President Muhammadu Buhari at the end of the Presidential
visit. The Deputy Governor’s car and several other cars in the
convoy including that of the State Commissioner of Police and a
Special Adviser to the Governor, were damaged.
The thugs, most of who were imported from neighbouring states to
create the false impression that APC enjoys a large following in
the state, came heavily armed. They carried guns, cutlasses and
sticks which they displayed openly and in the full glare of
security agencies who merely looked the other way.
On the eve of President Buhari’s visit, thugs hired by the APC
leadership in the state had gone round Jalingo metropolis and its
environs and destroyed PDP posters and bill boards. They were given
cover by security agencies who fired gunshots to scare away those
that may dare to confront them.
What happened today is a big contrast with the PDP presidential
flag-off of February 5, 2019, in Jalingo, which attracted a larger
crowd but recorded no incidence of crisis and deaths.
The Taraba State Government hereby condemns this unfortunate
bloodletting that has become the character of the APC in Taraba
State. Residents of Wukari are still leaking the wounds of the APC
violent visitation of January 29, 2019 during which PDP posters and
billboards were torn and a member of the PDP was killed. The State
Government will no longer fold its arms while innocent people are
being killed and maimed by the APC.
Bala Dan Abu
Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity