The security crisis rocking Yagba West Local Government Area ahead of Saturday’s rescheduled polls took a new dimension Wednesday as the local government administrator, Timi Joseph, alledgedly threatened on the phone to deal with House of Representatives, representing Yagba federal constituency, Hon Sunday Karimi in Egbe.
Joseph who is of the APC and Karimi of the PDP are indigenes of Egbe, commercial nerve of Yagba West Local Government.
Joseph, alleging Karimi of being behind online publications accusing the administrator of gun running, was said to have called the federal legislator at midnight to issue the threat. He was also alleged to have called Karimi’s close associates informing them of his intention.
According to Omoniyi Adeyemi, former Vice Chairman, Yagba West LGA, said the threat to life by the Administrator has however been reported to the DPO in Egbe and also to the Commissioner of Police, Lokoja.
Baring timely intervention, reports from Kogi State indicates that Saturday’s presidential and federal legislative elections In the state may have been imperilled on the alter of state sponsored violence.
This is coming on the heels of the presidential order to security agents to shoot at ballot snatcher, and another credited to the Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, that the military was bound to carry out the presidential order to the letter, there are palpable fears for a possible outbreak of violence, following which some mothers have called out their wards, especially youths to stay away from the polls.
Fresh reports indicated that political thugs have been supplied with ammunitions by political office holders creating fears that, prospective voters may not turn out for the rescheduled polls.
Reportedly, in Yagba West, a local government in Kogi West Senatorial district, speculations were rife yesterday that the local government administrator allegedly is in custody of guns and cartridges for the purpose of unleashing mayhem on the electorate on election day. This is coming in the wake of protests by market women in Kogi Central Senatorial District, calling on Governor Yahaya Bello to retrieve guns in circulation in the area. The protests which entered day 4 yesterday has seen the Ihima Market permanently shutdown.
An electorate who spoke on condition of anonymity told our reporter that the situation has become scary to the extent that many people are beginning to wonder if it was worth going out to vote on Saturday.
Last year, military hardwares imported into the country allegedly by agents of Kogi State government were apprehended by security agents at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja. The discovery of the illegally imported weaponry, following a tip and which the National Assembly duly brought to the attention of the security agents and federal government of which investigations were due to have been carried out and perpetrators brought to book, has either been ignored or swept under the carpet. Residents in Yagba federal constituency and indeed Kogi State believed that all the local government administrators who are loyalists of the governor may have been equipped with ammunition to bring the electorate in their domains into submission. The governor allegedly charged all the administrators and appointees to deliver their constituencies, by any means necessary, or be prepared to be sacked. Traditional rulers in the state got the marching order to deliver their domains or face demotion.
There were reports of gunshots fired in Egbe and Odo-Ere, Yagba West local government by trigger-happy youths, portending grave security concerns in the locality.
“According to an eyewitness, Allegations of gun running is not a new thing since the advent of the current administration in Kogi State and it is so frustrating that the police force has not been able to act based on public outcry,” commented a citizen, adding
“The thugs numbering about 10 rode on motorbikes and were shooting sporadically in the air. Some cartridges fell on the road. They claimed they had the support of the local government administrator. The thugs are strangers, and having been denied accommodation by hotel managements in Egbe (commercial nerve of Yagba West Local Government), their whereabouts are not known.
“The election is no longer interesting. For God sake, we are not in gorilla war, and for a fact that the army chief has threatened to carry our the shoot at sight presidential order in an election matter that should not be the responsibility of the Army but the police, only God will see Nigeria through in Saturday”.
