Suspected APC thugs allegedly attacked the campaign train of the incumbent Governor and PDP governorship candidate in Kaduna State. Mukhtar Yero on Monday.
The rivalry between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress took a dangerous dimension leaving 33 PDP members injured.
According to the victims, the wrangle occurred as some of the vehicles conveying the PDP supporters to Rigasa community in Kaduna South and Bakin Ruwa in Igabi Local Government Area for a campaign rally were attacked by suspected APC thugs.
The thugs, who were carrying dangerous weapons, also vandalized about 25 vehicles belonging to the PDP campaign organization.
The incident came up scarcely three weeks after candidates and leaders of the two political parties agreed to conduct violence free campaigns.
The latest attack on PDP supporters allegedly by APC thugs had sadly made mockery of the peace accord reached by all the political parties in the presence of the State Commissioner of Police, Umar Shehu.
Last week, four people were reportedly killed by political thugs in Badiko and Rigasa areas over political differences.
Governor Yero who was visibly emotional when he visited the injured persons where they were being treated at the Government House Clinic, stated that the thugs were apparently hired by the opposition party to attack his convoy with the sole aim of throwing the state into confusion.
The Governor, while reiterating his commitment to peaceful electoral process, warned that Government would no longer fold its arms and continue to watch some group of miscreants intimidate and harass majority of the people with impunity.
The Governor and the Kaduna PDP Chairman, Abubakar Haruna, while condemning the attack, called on the APC governorship candidate, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and leaders of the party to call their members to order and respect people’s rights to belong to political parties of their choice.
Some of the victims including a pregnant woman narrated how they were humiliated by some APC thugs just because they were supporting a PDP candidate.
However, the APC and El-Rufai Campaign Organization have denied that their members attacked PDP supporters.
Instead, they said that it was the State Governor who led thugs to destroy billboards of General Muhammadu Buhari and Nasir El-Rufai in Barkin Ruwa and Kabala West Junction in the state capital.
A statement issued by the Spokesman for El-Rufai Campaign Organization, Mr Samuel Aruwan, read; “PDP thugs are the ones that attacked and beat up APC members in the presence of Governor Yero.”
He exonerated his principal, Mallam El-rufai and APC members from the attacks, saying that those who carried out the attack were not their
members.
Although some people have been arrested in connection with the latest attack, the Commissioner of Police has warned all the parties to play the game according to the rules.
He said that the command would not spare anyone or group found to be unleashing terror on innocent citizens all in the name of campaign.
“Democracy, defined as government of the people, by the people and for the people, is also expected to be participatory and obligatory.
“With few days to the polls, political parties are expected not to over heat the polity with their campaigns, but to allow the citizenry to freely make their choices and support a political party or candidates of their choices.
“This will reduce election violence as being witness in some parts of the country,” CP Umar said.