Suspected thugs on Saturday disrupted the inauguration of the transition committee members of the coalition of opposition parties under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kaduna State, attacking participants and vandalising property.
The committee brought together members of an All Progressives Congress (APC) faction opposed to the state leadership alongside the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Labour Party (LP), and the ADC.
The inauguration held in Kaduna descended into violence when hoodlums armed with cutlasses, clubs, and stones disrupted the proceedings, eyewitnesses said.
Despite the attacks, the inauguration continued, though under tense and volatile conditions.
Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who attended the event, condemned the attack, calling it “a dangerous descent into lawlessness”.
He expressed outrage at the reported inaction of policemen deployed to the scene, accusing them of complicity in the mayhem.
He warned that political thuggery in the state must be stopped, alleging that senior police officers at the scene, including an Assistant Commissioner of Police, “stood by and watched” as the violence unfolded.
“If the authorities don’t end the introduction of thuggery into Kaduna politics, God help us. Nobody has a monopoly on violence or thugs.
“We will take decisive steps to ensure this does not repeat itself,” El-Rufai said.
He also vowed to escalate the matter to the Police Service Commission, claiming that the police had violated regulations by failing to intervene.
But the Kaduna State Police Command blamed El-Rufa’i for the incident, stating that the former governor failed to notify the police and other relevant security agencies about the meeting, despite repeated warnings and advice.
Credit: channelstv.com
