Politics

How Thugs Attack Bauchi Collation Centre, Injured Scores, Damaged Vehicles

Published

3 years ago

March 4, 2023

Many people were allegedly injured and more than 10 vehicles suffered various levels of damage when suspected thugs of the All Progressives Congress attacked supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party at the House of Representatives collation centre for Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Constituency in Bununu town in Bauchi State.

A former Senior Special Assistant on Media to Yakubu Dogara, the immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Iliya Habila, in an interview with journalists, said he narrowly escaped being lynched by the thugs who were armed to the teeth.

Habila, a former Chairman, Bogoro Local Government Area and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, who also spoke to journalists in the state said that the constituency election was marred by irregularities and violence.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had announced the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Ja’afar Leko, as the winner of the election ahead of that of the PDP, Kefas Magaji. Leko is being backed by Dogara who is representing the area for the fourth time.

But Habila, a journalist turned politician who is an ally of the PDP candidate, said they were robbed of the election that should have been theirs.

“As a supporter of the PDP and one of the key supporters of Kefas Magaji, we were there to witness the collation of results, suddenly, we saw thugs in trucks being brought to Bununu. We were surprised how the collation centre was transferred from Zwall to Bununu. Then later in the evening, we knew that obviously the reason behind it (transfer of the collation centre) was to cause confusion and then allow them to perpetrate the evil they had.

“For hours, they held the electoral officials to ransom, for hours, they held security agencies to ransom and within a corner, a primary school, which they condone off and they were perpetrating that kind of evil. In fact, it took the intervention of military personnel to go and bring out the concocted results and later on, they started unleashing terror on everybody that was perceived not to be with them. I also escaped by the whiskers.

“When most of our supporters had been driven away, they knew that it was a fertile ground for them to announce the concocted results they had. In fact, it was around 1am that they announced the results on Monday in a very nocturnal way and this is not acceptable. We were robbed of this victory, he was supposed to have been announced the winner, but it was a broad daylight robbery.”

He also added that many people were injured and had to run for dear lives. Also, more than 10 vehicles were destroyed. According to him, thugs were imported from communities to cause mayhem and distort the election.

Also speaking, the PDP candidate, a former Special Adviser on Legal Matters to the Bauchi State Governor, rejected the result of the election vowing that he would recover his mandate in the court.

The one-time Caretaker Committee Chairman of Tafawa Balewa LGA, said the voting was peaceful in all the polling units with the exception of a few areas that experienced challenges until the collation of results.

He narrated that “at the time of collation, 30 of the wards brought in their results in good time because immediately after the election, counting started and late in the evening (on Saturday), results started coming in. Surprisingly, in Bununu ward which is the host of the three LGAs, results were delayed.

“The next morning, which was Sunday, results were turned in from the remaining electoral wards of the LGAs but Bununu ward was not turned in until about 6 to 7 pm on Sunday which was very unusual.

“The venue of the collation centre was so tight as there were thugs around and the entrance was mounted with a heavy barricade which made it impossible for anybody to know what was happening. From reports, they collated the results about five times; surprisingly, when the Collation Officer took the results of the three LGAs to the collation centre in Bununu, the results were returned on grounds that the computations were not properly done and that there were so many errors.

“For the first time, instead of allowing the Presiding Officers who are the masters of election results to compute the results, the Electoral Officer for Tafawa Balewa took over the whole exercise and at the end of the day, they came up with a result that was not in consonance with the votes that was cast in that ward.”

Magaji stated that before the Bununu result was released, they made sure that “thugs were recruited who were fully armed with AK-47, cutlasses and machetes. It was at that time, they brought out the result from Bununu and it was late in the night when they knew that bringing in the result at the time, they were supposed to bring it in, the APC will definitely lose that election. So what they did was to ensure that the election result was delayed and that is the area that we are not so comfortable with.”

According to him, despite the delays and the “manipulations that they did in the election result,” they discovered that there were cases of over-voting alleging that instead of cancelling the results because of the over-voting, they refused.

“From the entire results they announced, the APC candidate got about 1,800 votes over me, but if they had counted the votes genuinely, certainly by all standards, I would have won the election. We are taking up this matter before the election tribunal to ensure that this case is pursued through the legitimate means in order to reclaim my mandate” he said.

PUNCH

Related Topics:##NigeriaElections2023 Bauchi

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Politics

ADC Will Take Over Aso Rock, Lagos Govt House In 2027 — Aregbesola

Published

7 hours ago

September 13, 2025

Editor

The National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has vowed that his party will unseat President Bola Tinubu and also take over Lagos state come 2027.

The former governor of Osun State made the pledge on Saturday, at an event where the leader of the Conscience Forum of the Labour Party (LP), Hon. Moshood Salvador, led members of the group to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The event which held in Lagos also marked the 25th anniversary of the Conscience Forum as a political group.

It had in attendance the National Secretary of the African Democratic Party, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, leadership of the ADC in Lagos state, and wards and zonal leaders of the Conscience Forum from the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 LCDAs in the state.

Addressing the new members, Aregbesola commended the leadership, executives and members of the Conscience Forum while tasking them on the need to take over the seat of power in Abuja and Lagos in 2027 general elections.

He pledged that the ADC will produce the next president of the country while charging the new intakes not to relent in their efforts to changing Nigeria for the better.

He said, “I am happy to be a part of this gathering. I am also happy to receive you into the ADC folds. We are the only one that can make it difficult to take over wherever we are if the Conscience Forum, good looking people with highly cultured leadership can organized this kind of event to make a declaration for the ADC and follow the line enunciated by the leader, surely, Alausa is a sure ticket for all of us.

“With our resolve, it won’t be difficult at all to take over the seat of power. It’s a simple strategy of one getting ten and each of the ten will equally get ten. Its operation ten over ten. Once we are able to get this done, that’s the end of it. We will surely meet at the Aso Rock Villa and produce the next president of the country. Once again, I am happy to be here and we must not relax our efforts to change Nigeria.”

Speaking on the move to the ADC, Salvador said the problems confronting the Labour Party has shown that it is not a party for the future.

He said, “Today, we are marking the 25 anniversary of the Conscience Forum and at the same time, for a wise man or people of wisdom, we look back to what you’ve achieved and look forward to what we are aiming to become. Our members were in Labour Party and the problem of the Labour Party has shown that they have lost the future. Its no more a party of the future and that is why, we have to think of where next since we have the new wave and the formation of coalition of political party, for anyone that wants something good of its members, the best is to join the coalition.

“This is not just the ADC. The ADC being the symbol of the coalition and that is why Conscience Forum, being a political group with over 400, 000 members in Lagos will have to showcase our structure including our LGA and Ward officers and so on. This is necessary for them to know the size of the group they are taking in. We chose today being our 25th anniversary to declare for the ADC so that our members will now join the ADC at their various ward levels.”

Politics

2027: Details Of Jonathan, Peter Obi Meeting Emerge

Published

13 hours ago

September 13, 2025

Editor

Details have emerged regarding the recent closed-door meeting between former President Goodluck Jonathan and former presidential candidate Peter Obi.

The two leaders are reportedly discussing strategies for a unified front in the 2027 presidential election.

The meeting took place on Thursday, with Obi disclosing insights about the engagement on his Facebook and X accounts.

The meeting was a continuation of previous conversations between the two leaders over strategies for the 2027 race.

The National Coordinator of the OBIdient Movement, Dr Yunusa Tanko, confirmed this in a statement on Friday.

“They (Jonathan and Obi) have been friends for a long time. The meeting was for them to fraternise and discuss how to rescue Nigeria.

“But for us in the OBIdient Movement, it would be great if Jonathan remains the respected statesman he is known for. He has done his best as President, he is respected, and this is the time for him to support his brother,” Tanko told Daily Trust.

Tanko further alleged that some politicians were plotting to use Jonathan against Obi but maintained that the Obidient Movement would not allow such a plan to succeed.

“We are aware of such moves, but we strongly believe they will not succeed.

“Many Nigerians believe the next president should come from the South, and for fairness, the South East should get the chance. Peter Obi is the ideal candidate,” he added.

Politics

Tinubu’s Mandate Accomplished In Rivers — Ibas

Published

22 hours ago

September 13, 2025

Editor

Rivers State Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd.), has stated that the mandate given to him by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been “sufficiently achieved” with the restoration of democratic governance at the grassroots.

Ibas made the remark on Friday at Government House, Port Harcourt, during the presentation of the report on the recently concluded local government elections by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).

He recalled that Tinubu, on March 18, 2025, directed him to stabilise the state, re-establish its institutions, and return Rivers to full democratic governance following his appointment as sole administrator.

According to him, the successful conduct of the polls and the swearing-in of elected chairmen and councillors across the 23 local government areas marked the fulfilment of that mandate.

“Mr. President’s mandate to me was clear: to stabilise the state, create an enabling environment for the re-establishment of its institutions, and return Rivers State back to full democratic governance. With the successful conduct and swearing-in of local government chairmen and their councils, I believe we have decisively achieved the mandate that we were given,” Ibas stated.

He praised RSIEC for what he described as a credible and transparent election, noting that the exercise was free of harassment and voters freely expressed their choices.

Ibas added that the government would review the RSIEC report and issue a white paper in due course. He also commended his team, security agencies, and state officials for their contributions.

RSIEC Chairman, Dr Mike Odey, who presented the report earlier, described the election as a “historic achievement” for Rivers and the country. He stressed that it was organised, coordinated, and concluded within 30 days — an unprecedented record in Nigerian electoral history.