Kogi state government has debunked new reports alleging that Governor Yahaya Bello threatened anyone ‘murmuring about his administration.
In a statement issued in Lokoja on Wednesday by signed by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo, the Kogi state government said the news reports published by Sahara Reporters is false and irresponsibly reckless.
The contentious news report was purportedly transcribed from a viral video of Governor Bello addressing people in Ihima, Okehi local government area of Kogi state over the weekend.
Fanwo insisted that the Governor was misinterpreted.
“While his Excellency talks tough against crimes and criminality as the chief security officer of Kogi State, he did not and will not engage in personal threat of violence against anyone. He is also neither a security agent with training in firearms handling nor a mugger.
“Let us quickly state that the Governor did not make any such statement about his proficiency in the use of firearms or threaten to use same against those who murmur against his administration in the video under reference or anywhere else.
“The statement allegedly transcribed from the video and used as a headline is totally the figment of the imagination of those behind Sahara Reporters. We urge Nigerians to dismiss the report including the subtitle in the video as false, spurious, defamatory, malicious and irresponsibly reckless,” he said.
Kogi state government called on Sahara Reporters to withdraw the statement immediately and apologize to the Governor and the Government of Kogi State within the next seven days, stating that failure or refusal to do so, the government would take legal actions in both criminally and in the civil courts.
