It was a horror to be held in Kogi State on Friday as two persons suspected to be political thugs loyal to the All Progressive Congress, APC was shot dead by yet-to-be-identified persons in a shootout during a political rally at Koton-Karffi in Kogi Local Government Area of the State.
The deceased, according to the eyewitness account, invaded the campaign venue of the Governorship Candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Alhaji Murtala Yakubu Ajaka shooting, sporadically to disperse the crowd.
The thugs who came in their twenties were overpowered by the angry-looking supporters of the SDP from the area, leading to a free-for-all fight.
Several persons from both sides sustained high degrees of injuries, while some were said to be in unconscious State before being taken to the hospital.
Among the dead was a powerful female political supporter of the APC who led her gang to invade the SDP campaign rally.
Another version of the story said the two people who were killed attempted to snatch the rifles from the security operatives attached to the governorship candidate to fight their opponent but met their untimely death.
The Spokesman of the SDP Governorship Campaign Organisation in the State, Mr Faruk Adejo, said the crisis was orchestrated by “the Power that be “in the StateState, adding that his party had the permission of the Police authority to hold its rally in Koton- Karffi on that day.
He wondered what would have warranted the invasion of the SDP Campaign rally ground by the APC thugs to disrupt it.
“It has been their game, APC doesn’t know what to do to stop the impending defeat rather than resorting to attacking our people, but it is very late as the voters have made up their minds to send out the incompetent leadership style of APC from the State “He added.
Mr Adejo, therefore, called on the Inspector-General of Police not to take the violent threat by the Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, for granted, stressing that a lot needed to be done to ensure a free, fair and violent election on November 11th, 2023.
Efforts to Speak with the State Chairman of All Progressive Congress, APC, Abdullahi Dollars, failed to yield any positive response as his phone was switched off, and the text was not replied to.
