Tobias Sylvester
Five persons have lost their lives, while many others were injured during President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign rally in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital.
As thousands of All Progressives Congress (APC) members converged on the Jolly Nyame Stadium for President Buhari’s re-election campaign in Jalingo on Thursday, five persons were feared to have lost their lives, two injured persons are said to be in critical state.
The convoy of the State Governor, Darius Ishaku was also attacked on its way out of the Danbaba Suntai Airport, where he and his deputy Haruna Manu and other officials of the government went to see off the president at the end of his rally.
Bala Dan Abu, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Darius Ishaku, Governor of Taraba State, confirmed the incident when he addressed reporters on Thursday. He said:
“The Deputy Governor’s car and several other cars in the convoy, including that of the Commissioner of Police and a Special Adviser to the Governor, were damaged.
“The thugs, most of whom were imported from neighbouring states to create the false impression that APC enjoys a large following in the state, came heavily armed.
“They carried guns, cutlasses and sticks, which they displayed openly and in the full glare of security agents who merely looked the other way. They were given cover by the security agencies who fired gunshots to scare away those who may dare to confront them.
“What happened today is a big contrast to the PDP presidential flag-off of February 5 in Jalingo, which attracted a large crowd, but recorded no incident of crisis and deaths. Residents of Wukari are still licking the wounds of the APC violent visitation of January 29, during which PDP posters and bill boards were torn and a member of the PDP killed.
“The Taraba State government will no longer fold its arms while innocent people are being killed and maimed.”
Meanwhile, two persons were also said to have been feared dead as a result of overcrowding at the stadium.
They were said to have been rushed to the hospital in ambulances during the rally.
