- Our lives threatened, Kano APC stakeholders cry out
- NNPP, Kano govt deny plot to attack APC, say legal issue will be settled in court
The Police Command in Kano State yesterday, asked all those suspected to be plotting to stage political protests in the state today to shelve their plans.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Usaini Gumel, issued a strong warning to all residents of the State, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) not to embark on any form of protest or procession today.
The Police Commissioner said the command uncovered a plan by some political parties in Kano state to violently protest the Appeal Court judgment which upheld Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf‘s sack from office.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders of Kano state on Friday cried out over an alleged threat to their lives by supporters of the ruling New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) on Friday.
Spokesman for the stakeholders, Alhaji Rabiu Sulaiman Bichi, at a press conference at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja, had alleged that the lives and properties of leaders and members of APC had been the target of the supporters of the NNPP, which is the ruling party in Kano State.
According to APC, the NNPP-led administration had perfected the strategy to unleash mayhem in the state today under the guise of a mass rally in protest of the loss at both the state governorship election petition tribunal and the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
The APC leaders then said they had concluded arrangements to stage a mass rally in support of the tenets of democracy and the rule of law in the country today in the state capital.
As a proactive measure, state Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Usaini Gume, yesterday banned all forms of processions. He urged residents to be law-abiding and report any suspicious movement, person(s) or item(s) they come across to the nearest police station or police emergency phone numbers.
The Commissioner of Police said the plan was to enter the streets in form of a protest to the court’s ruling with the intention of shutting down the state in an action that may result in violence.
“Credible information at the Command’s disposal reveals that some groups of people claiming to be political party supporters of both NNPP and APC are using various media platforms and mobilizing people and planning to enter the streets on Saturday, 25th November 2023 to stage protest against the Kano State Governorship Appeal Court’s verdict.
“The information further revealed that the intention of the protesters is to shut down the State and attack prominent political party opponents -action which may likely result in violence.
“At this juncture, the police command is making it categorically clear that as no formal notice was received from any of these political party about the plan to conduct any protest or gathering, the Police Command is issuing this warning to all residents of the State to be extra careful as whoever intends to conduct any protest or procession should do so only in accordance with the provisions of the law,” the police commissioner said.
Gumel recalled that before and after the Kano State Governorship Court of Appeal ruling, he invited the leaderships of NNPP and APC to the police where they signed an accord to support security agencies in sustaining peace in the state.
He assured that adequate security arrangements have been put in place to ensure protection of life and property.
The police commissioner advised those planning to come out on the planned date for the protest to change their mindset, sheath their swords and cooperate with the Police and other security agencies for the good of the State.
He added: “In view of the above, the Commissioner of Police, Kano State Police Command, Mohammed Usaini Gumel, calls on all residents to maintain calmness and avoid any form of unlawful gathering, protest, or procession that may trigger violence.
“A joint team of security forces has been dispatched to strategic locations to safeguard peace and order across the State.
“Furthermore, the position of the law is very clear; whoever attempts to disrupt the peace in the State will be arrested and made to face the wrath of the law.”
It was gathered that the Police Commissioner, Gumel, working with the military and other heads of security agencies in the state, has been deploying personnel and equipment to identified strategic locations in the state to ensure the security of lives and property and forestall any attempt to cause disturbance because of the governorship election legal battle.
Before the Kano tribunal judgment on September 20, there was anxiety in the state as the sacked Commissioner of Lands and Physical Planning, Adamu Kibiya, threatened to kill the judges and their “sponsors” if the verdict would not be in favour of Yusuf.
Bichi, who is the director general of Gawuna/Garo Campaign Organisation, on Friday noted that, unlike the 8-year peaceful reign of APC, Kano state people have been living in fear since the new administration came on board in May this year.
The APC leaders claimed that it was unfortunate that the people of Kano now live in perpetual fear of intimidation and threat to life and property, since the assumption of office by Governor Abba Yusuf, starting with the orgy of violence by elements of the NNPP, targeted at APC stalwarts in the state.
This, they said, was aside from the destruction of the state headquarters of the party and the setting ablaze of properties of some leading figures of the APC as well as the demolition of public property built by Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje when he was governor of the state.
Bichi noted: “Kano remained peaceful throughout the eight-year administration of the APC as evidenced in the increased number of governmental, non-governmental Organisations and corporate bodies rushing into Kano to hold their conferences, seminars, symposia and Annual General Meetings and importantly inflow of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs).
“Since the conduct of the 2023 governorship election and the declaration of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) as the winner, the ruling APC as a peace-loving party, remained calm and shunned any form of violence.”
He further alleged that “things appear to be getting worse since the embattled leader of the NNPP Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso came back to Kano on Sunday, where he held a meeting of the party’s stakeholders, at the end of which they came up with a lineup of activities that included unleashing of violence to not only eliminate the APC in Kano but also to make it ungovernable in the event of Supreme Court judgement in favour of the APC.
“We have it from reliable sources that they are planning a mass protest on Saturday (today) during which key figures of the APC will be targeted, if possible to eliminate them.”
Despite the provocation by agents and supporters of the ruling party, the stakeholders who include former commissioners, former and serving state Assembly members as well as former and serving appointees of both the state and federal governments said they would remain law-abiding and would not do anything to disturb peace in Kano state.
The APC leaders also called on the Kano State Police command and other security agencies in the state to be alive to their responsibilities and take appreciative measures to avoid loss of life and property.
Meanwhile the NNPP and the Kano State government yesterday, dismissed claims by the members of the APC in the state, alleging plots to attack them.
Both the party and the government said the APC in Kano was probably planning to use political thugs to cause trouble in the state and blame it on them.
A member of the National Working Committee of the party loyal to the presidential candidate and the national auditor of the party, Oladipo Johnson told The Nation that the allegations by the APC were baseless and without any iota of truth.
Johnson said: “It’s just a lie. They are just trying to weep up sentiments and do what they have been asked to do by the leaders of their party in order to blackmail the NNPP.
“Our members are peace-loving people. The elections came, they didn’t fight. The tribunal judgment came, and they didn’t fight. That is a clear indication that they are peace-loving people.
“All they want is for justice to prevail. So, let the APC members in Kano stop projecting. They are projecting what they want to do because our people have never said the plan to do such things. The public should know that the NNPP and Kwankwasiyya movement stand for peace.”
The chief press secretary to the Kano State governor, Sanusi Bature also dismissed the allegations saying the matter in court will be settled in the court.
Bature said: “There is no activity happening on Saturday that has any relationship directly or indirectly with the government, especially protest.
“As a government, we are responsible for the protection of the lives of the people of Kano state be they citizens, residents, or neighbours. So, it is a mere allegation to say that the state is sponsoring any activity against the people.
