A purported plan to unlawfully arrest a loyalist of SDP Gubernatorial Candidate in the last Kogi Governorship Election, Barr. Natasha Hadiza Akpoti has been exposed.
The plot, as revealed by a source who pleaded anonymity, is being hatched by aides of Governor Yahaya Bello.
In a screeshot made available via his Facebook handle, Fortune Omuya Salawu disclosed one of his sympathizser’s text messages which read “Good afternoon sir,,,the sars have bin giving an order to come and pick u in abj,,,pls find a safe place to hide for the main time”
In his post, Mr. Fortune stated that the message is fourth of its kind he has received lately and that the idea is to make it look like he is being kidnapped without a trace of his whereabouts when they succeed in arresting him with officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
Further in his post, Mr. Fortune made clear; “if anything happen to me please hold governor Yahaya Bello and his aides accountable. It is not kidnappers”.
Revealing the reasons behind his planned arrest, Mr. Fortune said “the planned arrest cum kidnap is not unconnected to my activities on social media against bad governance; my constant condemnation of Governor Yahaya Bello’s negligence of his duty for political campaigns, especially with respect to the recent Lokoja tanker tragedy and flood which have claimed many lives and properties worth millions of naira destroyed. Very sad that Kogi government is yet to come up with any relief plan for the victims let alone a preventative measure against future.”
“Secondly, their plans can be obviously linked to the forthcoming local government council elections in Kogi State where the governor and his aides have succeeded in imposing candidates on APC and also have concluded plans to rig the elections in favour of the party. They know their imposition of candidates will not thrive under normal democracy, so they are doing everything possible to silence perceived opponents even those within the APC who opted out of their unhealthy plans for the election.
“You will recall that on the 5th of October, 2020, one of the aggrieved APC chairmanship aspirants for Okehi Local Government, Hon. M.S. Sadiq, was arrested in Abuja over an audio recording he released pleading with the governor to reverse the imposition of Councilorship and Chairmanship candidates on the party by Kogi Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftancy Affairs, Ozigi Momodu (Deedat). Till today, Hon. Sadiq is still in unlawful detention without any clear offence other than rendering his voice for justice.
“In a similar act of ruthlessness, the Kogi Government under the watch of Gov. Yahaya Bello ordered the arrest and detention of a traditional ruler in Adavi Local Government alongside 30 others who were said to have orchestrated protest against the anointed candidates of the Governor in the Local Government. Not only were they unlawfully detained but were merely dragged to a magistrate court in Lokoja after public outcry against their maltreatment.
“It will also interest the public to note, that prior to the last Governorship Election in the state, the Kogi Central PDP zonal chairman, Ade Sparta was smuggled out of his house by some uniform men for a no known crime. There has never been any trace of his whereabouts till today. These are just few among the numerous cases of political vendetta by the government of Yahaya Bello and his cruel aides.
“It is on this note, that I call on Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari; the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General DSS; and other security agencies to swift into action and curtail the excesses of the Kogi State Government while ensuring that the lives and properties of Kogi indigenes are protected both within and outside the State.
“Specifically, the IG of Police should intervene in the activities of SARS officers in Kogi State who are being used by Kogi State Government to perpetuate unlawful arrest, kidnap and killing of perceived political enemies of the government. Else, this will only continue to justify the nationwide agitation against the police unit, with the hashtag #EndSARS.
“I want to state clearly once again that my life is not safe with the security threats I receive constantly and whatever happens to me, the Kogi State Governor and his aides should be held responsible.”
