Kogi: PDP Warns Police, Urges Members to Resist Harassment

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cautions the APC-led government and
the police to note that there is a limit to which the people of Kogi
state can stomach the unlawful harassment and detention of its members
in the state ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.

Our position is consequent upon the Save our Soul (SOS) message from our
Kogi state chapter, informing the national leadership that the police,
using men of a special squad, have been arresting, beating up and
invading homes of key PDP members in the state.

Information available to us show that Police operatives, acting on the
orders of the APC government have been hounding, beating-up and
arresting PDP members and supporters in Igalamala, Ofu, Dekina, Ankpa
and Idah local governments and other areas in the state, ostensibly to
intimidate and frighten the electorate and pave the way for some
compromised INEC officials to manipulate the electoral process in favour
of the APC.

We want Nigerians and the international community to note that this
attack is a clear fall-out from the secret meeting between the
Presidency and security agencies and INEC, which we exposed earlier this
week.

The national leadership of the PDP condemns in the strongest possible
terms, this reprehensible partisan deployment of state apparatus of
power, which is a yet another clear indication that the Nigerian police
may have become a compromised instrument in the hands of the APC federal
government in its bid to forcefully take over PDP states.

This intolerable and provocative operation by the Police cannot
continue. Kogi state is a known PDP state and our members and supporters
as free citizens cannot be treated as prisoners of war in a state where
they are clearly in the majority. The people of Kogi state are being
pushed to the wall and we invite the entire nation to note the avoidable
growing tension occasioned by the desperation of the APC to take over
the state.

Consequently, we hereby state that we hold the Federal Government
completely responsible should there be any civil unrest and/or breakdown
of law and order in Kogi state or in any other part of the country where
they have been exhibiting dictatorial and fascist tendencies.

Signed:

Chief Olisa Metuh
National Publicity Secretary