Nasarawa gov orders probe into APC presidential rally disruption

File: Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has directed security agencies to immediately investigate the disruption of activities at the venue of the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign rally in Lafia on Wednesday and ensure that everyone found responsible is brought to account.

The governor gave the directive on Thursday during an expanded security meeting at the Government House, Lafia, following incidents at the rally and the reported obstruction of the convoy of Vice President Kashim Shettima during his visit to the Emir of Lafia.

Sule described the incident as a serious matter, noting that the Vice President attended the rally on behalf of President Bola Tinubu.

“The embarrassment was not to the state or the Presidential Campaign Council alone. It was an embarrassment to the Vice President on behalf of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That is the reason why we cannot take it lightly,” he stated.

The governor directed security agencies to invite and question all those suspected to have played a role in the incidents, irrespective of their former positions or status.

He stressed that the investigation must go beyond the arrest of a few youths, insisting that those who allegedly planned and sponsored the disruption must also be identified.

“We cannot, at the end of the day, after having such an embarrassment, just go and arrest five or six Almajiris and say that is the end of it. It will not work. The people responsible for this must be called to order,” he said.

Sule also expressed concern over reports that some individuals had planned to disrupt the rally before the event, as well as the attack on the Vice President’s convoy and the throwing of an object suspected to be a shoe towards the podium where he and other governors were standing.

He questioned the circumstances surrounding the use of tear gas at the venue, particularly around the podium, and called for a thorough investigation into the conduct of security personnel during the incident.

The governor, who commended the military, the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps for their intervention, said he had summoned the meeting to ensure that all concerns were properly presented before further action was taken.

He warned against allowing political disagreements to degenerate into violence, saying, “I don’t want us to behave like them. If we behave like them, believe me, the state will become ungovernable. That is how Boko Haram started.”

Earlier, the Secretary to the Government of Nasarawa State, Labaran Shuaibu Magaji (SAN), said the meeting was convened to examine the security lapses and incidents surrounding the presidential campaign rally.

Magaji recalled that Sule had convened an expanded meeting of the local organising committee on Monday, November 2, where security chiefs briefed the government on their preparations and assured that adequate security arrangements had been made before, during and after the rally.

He said the governor also maintained regular contact with security chiefs and monitored preparations to ensure a peaceful event.

According to him, the Vice President’s visit to the palace of the Emir of Lafia was not originally part of the Presidential Campaign Council’s programme but was undertaken at the instance of the Vice President in recognition of the traditional institution.

He further alleged that suspected opposition supporters disguised in APC T-shirts gained access to the rally venue, chanted opposition slogans and threw an object towards the podium where Sule and other dignitaries were standing.

Magaji also questioned the response of the police, alleging that instead of removing those causing the disturbance, personnel deployed tear gas at the venue, affecting the podium where the governors were addressing the crowd.

He said the intervention of the military, the DSS and the NSCDC was necessary to restore order.

The SGN also drew attention to reports of an alleged meeting held before the rally to plan its disruption, as well as videos circulating on social media which, he said, raised questions about the involvement of some individuals.

He called for answers to critical questions, including who planned the disruption, whether prior intelligence was ignored, who attacked the Vice President’s convoy and who threw the object towards the dignitaries at the rally.

Magaji said the state government had already requested security agencies to activate their investigative machinery to establish the circumstances surrounding the incidents.