From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
Commissioner of Police, Kogi Command Bethrand Onuoha and the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Muritala Ajaka have exchange hard words on alleged allegation by the party that it’s members were targets of officially planned assassination.
The police has asked the general public to disregard allegations of planned attack on supporters of the SDP governorship candidate, Muritala Yakubu Ajaka alleged by the Director of Communications of his campaign organization.
The Police Boss in a statement issued by the Command’s Spokesman (PPRO) SP William Aya and made available to Newsmen in Lokoja on Monday, described the purported claim as perfidious and malicious.
According to the police, “the attention of the Kogi State Police Command has been drawn to a fake, incendiary, perfidious, malicious and misleading allegations making the rounds by one Faruk Adejoh-Audu, Director Communications Murtala Yakubu Ajaka governorship Campaign Organization to the effect that, the Commissioner of Police Bethrand Onuoha plans attack on Ajaka Supporters in Kogi LGA.
“The Command wishes to emphatically and categorically state that, the statement is not only the figment of the imagination of Faruk Adejoh-Audu and his Political Candidate Yakubu Ajaka who has mastered the art of Political gimmickry and brigandage, but totally false, malicious, pretentious, and highly mischievous.
“The Commissioner of Police who upon assumption of duty one month ago has so far demonstrated a high level of professionalism by providing a level playing ground for all Political Parties and their candidates to operate in the State should not be dragged into Politics.
” It would be recalled that, on 3rd June, 2023 along Abuja-Lokoja road, the SDP Candidate Murtala Yakubu Ajaka and his supporters blocked and attacked the Convoy of the Executive Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello at Banda some kilometers away from Lokoja.
“During the attack, some of the governor’s aides sustained varying degrees of injuries. All efforts, invitations and entreaties to come and give his own side of the incident has come to nought. Yet he has been moving around the nooks and crannies of the State without any molestation even when he has no immunity. The case is still under Investigation.
“In a democracy, freedom of expression is a right, but it must be accompanied by responsibility, not to hide under it’s guise to spin out lies, falsehood, innuendos and sensationalism. It shows the writer and his sponsors have no decorum, decency, intellect, and are oblivious of the legal consequences of deformation and assassination of character.
“The Commissioner of Police hereby appeals to Murtala Yakubu Ajaka and his Campaign Organization to leave him alone, stop all the negative write-ups and frivolous allegations aimed at under-mining the spirited crime-fighting efforts of the Police in Kogi State and whipping up sentiment against them and heating up the State for no just cause.
In it’s allegations, the Muritala Yakubu Ajaka Campaign Organization in a statement made available to Journalists at the weekend, accused Governor Yahaya Bello of plan to attack supporters of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Kogi local government area of the state.
Director Communications of the Campaign Team, Faruk Adejoh-Audu said “the diabolic plot is in response to the mass defection of APC members in Kogi (Koto) LGA in the last one week during which majority of the APC ward chairmen, a former State Assembly member and even his own Special Advisers announced their rejection of of the party and declared support for SDP governorship candidate, Alhaji Murtala Ajaka.”
Adejoh-Audu said faced with mass rejection leading to a gale of defections from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State, Governor Yahaya Bello has recruited the state Commissioner of Police, Onuoha Bethrand to unleash a campaign of intimidation on supporters of Ajaka.
“We are privy to a conspiracy by the Kogi Police Commissioner, Mr Berthrand Onuoha and Mr Bello to frame-up SDP members in Kogi Local Government Area with all manners of trumped-up offences to enable him embark on a mass crack down of our supporters this weekend.
“One Bashir Gegu, a notorious thug hired by Mr Bello as aide, according to our our information, has supplied a roll call of major supporters of Alhaji Ajaka to Mr Unuoha the Commissioner of Police who is set to deploy a squad of policemen supported by Bello’s thugs led by the said Gegu to begin invading Kogi LGA from this night.
“The immediate past commissioner of police Mr Adeshina Yusuf had on June 22, this year invaded Ejule in Kogi East while decent people slept, with policemen, Naval personel and a gang of thugs to kill a defenceless woman Mrs Atima , and Alhaji Kabir Bala alias Okwo, a known political ally and former thug of Mr Bello who had renounced violence and declared support for Alhaji Ajaka.
“It is disgraceful that Adeshina’s replacement Mr Onuoha who has obstinately refused to arrest Bello’s thugs who burnt down the state office of the SDP and other violent crimes, even after we sent a petition and clearly identified the criminals supported by video evidence, is now eager to crack down on innocent citizens because of their political choice.“Even attacks against our supporters in broad daylight across the state particularly in Kogi East and videos released by Bello’s aides and even an LGA Chairman threatening violence against voters had been ignored by this police commissioner.
Adejoh-Audu called on the Inspector of Police, the Police Service Commission and the minister for police affairs to step in and save the state.
He advised SDP supporters to be calm and peaceful while the campaign organization explore the civilised due process of the law to save them from the rampage of Gov. Bello and his security accomplices.
Adejoh-Audu said the campaign organization has already approached its lawyers, Messrs Femi Falana SAN, to immediately commence legal actions against the commissioner of police to protect the right of SDP candidate and his supporters to freely participate in the democratic process without fear of harm.
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