The long awaited inaugural sitting of the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal came up yesterday in Lokoja with supporters of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) clashing at the venue.
The tribunal, led by Justice Sulaiman Ambusa, was sitting over the petitions on the December 3 governorship election.
The governorship candidate of came out of the sitting to the warm embrace of his supports who had stormed the venue in solidarity. His supporters, on sighting him, raised brooms and cheered him. This show of solidarity from ACN supporters irked supporters of PDP who were also at the venue in their large numbers.
The supporters of PDP also started chanting, “Sai Wada”, a reaction that led to rowdy scene, and subsequently, confrontation between the two rival parties.
The two official cars of Speaker of the House of Assembly, Abdullahi Bello, were smashed.
Policemen shot into the air to chase away youths from the vicinity. The violence lasted about an hour.
The speaker who also attended the inaugural sitting of the tribunal, had to be whisked away by security agents, even as senior government officials, including commissioners and special advisers, stalwarts of ACN and journalists scampered for safety.
The tribunal adjourned the matter till Thursday.
