Omonu YG Nelson
As tension festers in Kogi State in the count down to the November 11 governorship election, the Kogi East Elders Council (KEEC) has called for the removal of the state Commissioner of Police, Director of Department of State Services, and the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state.
In a press statement read on behalf of the group by Ambassador Ali Ocheni in Abuja on Tuesday, KEEC explained that in view of the recent events in the state, the neutrality of these men could not be guaranteed.
They averred that thugs sponsored by the governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has unleashed mayhem on innocent citizens, calling on relevant authorities to intervene to avoid further killings and wanton destruction of lives and property.
“We are calling for the immediate replacement of Kogi state INEC Commissioner and his Administrative Secretary, Engr Tanko, who we consider no longer unbiased and as such unqualified to remain in these important positions .
“Many of the INEC Electoral Officers (EOs) have become landlords, and millionaires, having remained in Kogi State for more than eight years doing the biddings of the powers that be to the detriment of our democracy. Most of them should also be transferred.
“We demand the removal of the current Commissioner of Police who supervised the recent extra judicial killings in Kogi East senatorial district.
“The Director, State Security Service, Kogi State should also be replaced. His ineffectiveness has led to the escalation of violence in the State.
“Another person we demand be removed and investigated immediately is Navy Commander Akalezi. He is Bello’s hitman and is based in Okene. We had requested severally that he be transferred out of Kogi State. Instead, he was sent to the Republic of South Africa for a senior division training and is now back in Kogi to continue doing the biddings of Yahaya Bello. We request again that he removed from Kogi state .
The Elders explained that the state sponsored carnage has intensified since Kogi East Elders Council endorsed the candidature of Alhaji Murtala Yakubu Ajaka.
“You May wish to know that, shortly after the Kogi East Elders Council endorsed the candidature of Alhaji Murtala Yakubu Ajaka, for the November 11 gubernatorial election which was based on studies and the aspirations of the people of Kogi East in particular, there was a security breach caused and supervised by the governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello along Lokoja – Abuja highway where Alhaji Murtala Yakubu Ajaka,s car was shot at multiple times .
“For carrying the news of the heinous attack on Alhaji Murtala Ajaka, the Kogi State radio station at Ochaja, Dekina Local Government Area of the state was vandalized and looted by thugs suspected to be agents of the political leadership in Kogi State.”
“During that senseless breach of the peace of Ejule, an innocent woman, Mrs Atima Abdullahi was murdered by agents of the state.
In the last two weeks, two vigilante men were gunned down by unknown gunmen conveyed in a Toyota Hilux vehicle at the gate of the Palace of Ejeh of Ankpa and another at Chairman’s Quarter junction, Owele, Ankpa.”
The Elders bemoaned the attack on the state campaign office of the opposition Social Democratic Party at early hours of Sunday, adding that the perpetrators are those known to the residence of the area.
“More killings and destruction of properties are still going on in the state. In the early hours of July 9 2023 (06:30am-07:05 am), political thugs suspected to be agents of the Kogi State government violated the campaign office of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Lokoja and burnt billboards, and damaged doors and windows .
“Gentlemen of the press, the current atmosphere of fear, intimidation and insecurity being created by Governor Yahaya Bello and his minions all in preparation for the November 11, 2023 gubernatorial election does not augur well for Kogi State. He has consistently and unabashedly targeted Kogi East for harassment using the instruments of state. Governor Yahaya Bello rather than being the chief security officer of Kogi State has become the security threat to Kogi state itself. All of this is in his efforts to foist a particular candidate on the state to cover his eight years of ineffectual and ineffective administration in the state.”
The group went down memory lane to chronicle some of the incidences to prove that Bello is a threat to peace of the state.
“For the records, the following are some of the many negative antecedents in Kogi State by the state governor Alhaji Yahaha Bello:
Yahaya Bello had dug up roads leading to the community of a perceived political opponent in Kogi Central during the 2023 general elections.
“There was a bomb blast at the palace of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland in Okene during the visit of the immediate past president in April 2023 . That this traditional ruler was later queried by the state government spoke volumes, as no investigation was carried out on the bomb blast till date.
“Mrs Salome Acheju Abu was burnt to death in her house at Ochadamu, Ofu Local Government of the state during the 2019 elections by people known to be close associates of Yahaya Bello .
The use of a police helicopter to shoot voters on the voting queue during the 2019 pointed to the active involvement of Alh. Yahaya Bello
e. Killing of two voters on a queue in Abocho, Dekina Local Government Area during the 2019 elections by people in police uniform but suspected to be fake police. Some of Yahaya Bello’s associates are now in court accusing each other on who invited the police to kill.
“An undergraduate of Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, Dekina Local Government Area was killed while on a queue to vote in 2019 aside many such incidents that happened.”