By Abdullahi Yusuf
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State has warned that if security agencies do not take steps to stop further unprovoked and mindless attacks and vandalisation of its campaign materials by the opposition New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), the ruling party will not fail to defend its members.
Spokesperson for Gawuna/Garo Campaign Council and the State Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Malam Muhammad Garba, said this in a statement issued to newsmen in Kano on Friday.
Garba said any further attack on members or supporters of the APC would be met with the full vehemence of the law.
He asked the NNPP to call its members to order “and make them stay on the path of peace, otherwise they should realize that violence is not the monopoly of any party.”
The commissioner said Kano has relatively remained peaceful in recent times,and that the APC is fully committed to peaceful campaigning and is working day and night to ensure victory at the polls, “which the opposition is afraid of.”
He said it is unfortunate that the NNPP, which is not comfortable with the massive support the APC has been getting from the people of the state, is now resorting to violence to exhibit its frustrations.
He said while the NNPP is unleashing violence against the APC, its Chairman, Haruna Doguwa, in an attempt to cover up the atrocities, is crying foul.
Malam Garba said the APC had documented evidence on what the NNPP thugs had been doing, including killing, causing bodily harm and destruction of campaign materials.
“The NNPP kwankwasiyya has now unleashed a reign of terror on our members. They killed our member in Kutama, torched the residence of the APC chairman, they descended on our members in Makoda, Gezawa, Tarauni, inflicted bodily harm on some of them and also dispossessed them of their phones and other personal effects, as well as night operations to pull down our posters in the metropolitan area,” he said.
The commissioner said that the NNPP’s deafening silence over attacks on the APC confirmed not only their implicit support for violence, but also afraid of free and fair elections and as well, their plan to precipitate violence in order to frighten people not to come out to exercise their civic rights.