By; ADAMA JOHN, Lokoja
The Kogi State Police Command has confirmed an attack on the Secretary of the State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, Mr. David Mike last Monday by yet to be identified gunmen.
A statement issued in Lokoja by the command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Williams Ovye-Aya, said the secretary was attacked along two other persons on the said day.
Ovye-Aya, however, warned the public from making inflammatory statements on the incident which he said, was under investigation.
“On Monday, Dec. 4, at about 18:20hrs, one Mr David Mike (M) Secretary to Kogi governorship election petition tribunal, along with Labode Apreala (F) Confidential Secretary and Hassimu Adamu Assistant Secretary, came to State Criminal Investigation Department, Kogi State Police Headquarters and reported that they were attacked by gunmen.
“On the date (Dec. 4) three of them left their hotel rooms in Lokoja about 1300hrs, heading to their office at the High Court Complex, driving in his (David’s) Peugeot 406 car, but that just before the CBN at about 1320hrs, one SUV vehicle which had earlier overtaken him, blocked his car with two other SUVS following behind.
“All of them (attackers) surrounded and blocked him as he attempted to reverse.
“That he (Mike) saw about seven hooded men all heavily armed and dressed in black attire, who shot severally into the air and dragged him and his two other colleagues out of their car, ransacked the car and made away with all the documents, including petitions filed by four parties.
“The names of the parties are Action Alliance (AA), Action People’s Party (APP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP).
“The items also included two record books and a bag containing his personal items and claimed also to have reported to the DSS Office,” Ovye-Aya said.
He said the Police Commissioner, Bethrand Onuoha, had ordered for a thorough and diligent investigation into the incident.
He explained that the statement on the attack became imperative following series of distorted information on the incident, hence the need to set the records straight.
“The command hereby advises the general public to avoid making statements that might prejudice ongoing investigation into the matter.
“The command also appealed to anyone with useful information on the alleged incident to provide same to the Command, ” Ovye-Aya said.
He however, pledged to update the public as investigation progressed.
Nevertheless, APC had earlier said that the Social Democratic Party (SDP) should be investigated over the alleged attack to save the nation’s democracy.
Mr Fanwo, Director of Media and Publicity, APC Governorship Campaign Council, had made the call in Lokoja on Tuesday.
But the Kogi SDP, through its Counsel, J.S. Okutepa (SAN), had also raised the alarm over the attack and accused the APC of using hired thugs in Lokoja.
