Politics

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

Published

2 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

Obi Blames Tinubu For 70% Investment Crash

Published

15 hours ago

August 16, 2025

Editor

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of presiding over what he described as “a collapse in foreign direct investment.”

He blamed what he called “poor leadership, weak governance, and uncoordinated reforms” for the country’s economic woes.

Obi, in a statement shared on official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Friday, noted that going by fresh figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, FDI into Nigeria plunged by about 70 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, falling to $126.29m from $421.8m recorded in the last quarter of 2024.

“While the President, ministers, and other government officials continue their global galivanting in search of FDI, our poor performance in key governance indicators – such as rule of law, regulatory quality, government effectiveness, and voice and accountability – continues to prove that you cannot attract sustainable foreign investment with poor leadership and governance,” Obi wrote.

While noting that the country’s investment inflows were largely speculative, Obi said, “Of the total capital importation of about $5.64 bn in Q1 2025, FDI accounted for only about 2.24 per cent, compared to 8.2 per cent in Q4 2024.

“Disturbingly, about 90 per cent of the imported capital went into speculative money market instruments, with negligible impact on industrial growth or job creation, given the ease with which such ‘hot money’ can exit the economy.”

He argued the sharp drop in manufacturing inflows further underscored the lack of investor confidence in the country.

“Capital flows to the manufacturing sector declined by 32.1 per cent, falling to only $129.92 million in Q1 2025 from $191.92 million in the same quarter of 2023. There is no better confirmation of the lack of trust in this government, whose reforms remain uncoordinated and largely reactive,” he said.

The former Anambra State governor further compared the country’s performance with other African nations that recorded major gains.

“In 2024, while global FDI flows declined, Africa’s FDI rose by about 75 per cent to $97 billion,” he stated.

“Egypt alone attracted $46.58 billion. Ethiopia received $3.98 billion, Côte d’Ivoire $3.80 billion, Mozambique $3.55 billion, Uganda $3.30 billion, DR Congo $3.11 billion, South Africa $2.47 billion, Namibia $2.06 billion, Senegal $2.02 billion, Guinea $1.83 billion, and Morocco $1.64 billion.”

According to him, Nigeria has been left trailing far behind.

“Most disappointingly, our dear nation, the so-called ‘Giant of Africa,’ received only $1.08 billion – about one per cent of Africa’s total FDI – representing a decline of about 42 per cent from 2023. Worse still, after that 42 per cent drop between 2023 and 2024, FDI to Nigeria has further declined by 75 per cent between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025,” Obi lamented.

He warned that unless Nigeria fixed its governance problems, it would continue to lose investment to more stable African economies.

“We cannot achieve sustainable growth and development with ineffective leadership and a weak government,” he said.

Politics

By-election: Edo Deputy Gov Lauds Credible Process, Encourages Voters

Published

23 hours ago

August 16, 2025

Editor

Edo State Deputy Governor, Dennis Idahosa, on Saturday commended the impressive turnout of voters in the ongoing by-election for the Ovia Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives.

Idahosa gave the commendation after casting his ballot at Unit 3, Old Education Board, Iguobazuwa West Ward, Ovia South-West Local Government Area.

He described the process as seamless, peaceful, and encouraging.

Edo Deputy Governor, Dennis Idahosa, on the queue at the Ovia Federal Constituency to cast his vote.

“I must commend the people for coming out in large numbers to vote. So far, everything is going well. We are expecting free, fair, and credible elections. Ovia people will be happy with the outcome. I am calling on more voters to come out and perform their civic duties.

“I just voted and I am going home while I wait for the result,” he said.

Meanwhile, at Okada West Ward Units 1, 4, and 6, voters were seen in long queues waiting to cast their ballots.

Politics

By-election: PDP, APC Exchange Words Over Alleged Plan To Disrupt Poll

Published

2 days ago

August 15, 2025

Editor

The Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress on Friday alleged that it had uncovered plans by the Peoples Democratic Party to cause chaos by attacking selected polling and collation centres during Saturday’s by-election in Edo Central and Ovia Federal Constituency.

In a statement signed by the state APC Chairman, Jarret Tenebe, the party also alleged that the state PDP Chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, and a top party chieftain, Chief Francis Inegbeniki, were part of the plot.

However, Aziegbemi, who chairs the PDP caretaker committee in the state, dismissed the allegation in a message to journalists, describing it as “absolute nonsense.”

PDP Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare, also said the APC did not deserve a response, adding, “All we demand is a level playing field for a free, fair and transparent election.”

Inegbeniki also denied any plan to disrupt the election, describing the APC’s claims as “malicious, false, and misleading.”

The APC statement read, “The All Progressives Congress wishes to inform the general public, and in particular, electorates in Edo State, that we have uncovered a dastardly plan by the remnants of the Peoples Democratic Party to cause chaos by attacking some selected polling and collation centres on Saturday in the Edo Central and Ovia Federal Constituency by-election.

“Last (Thursday) night, a large crowd of thugs suspected to have been imported from neighbouring states was seen gathered at Chief Francis Inegbeniki’s home in Opoji, Esan West Local Government Area of the state, and they were dispatched last night to various points in Edo Central.

“We have earlier reported to the security agencies that Inegbeniki played a major role in the murder of Inspector Akor, but sadly, he has been left to walk the streets freely unchallenged. One of those who attended the briefing informed us that they were brought from neighbouring states for the purpose of the senatorial election.

“Similarly, strange-looking youngsters in several unmarked buses were seen last night, parked at the residence of the state caretaker chairman of the PDP, Mr. Tony Aziegbemi, in Benin City, and again we have been told that the unidentified fierce-looking men have been dispatched to Ovia North East and Ovia South West Local Government Areas to disrupt the re-run election.”

Tenebe urged the Nigerian Police to arrest the PDP leaders and others allegedly involved to prevent attacks on voters, stressing that elections should not be treated as war.

He said the APC remained committed to the principles of free, fair, and credible elections, adding that the party had campaigned vigorously and was ready to win both by-elections overwhelmingly.

“We are advising Aziegbemi and his cohorts that they should not stand in our way to victory, but if they insist on their evil plans to constitute themselves as hurdles, they will be the way. Saturday’s election shall be the testament and confirmation of the 2.5 million votes Edo people have promised President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. We call on all eligible voters to turn out in their numbers to cast their votes unhindered,” Tenebe added.

In his response, Inegbeniki said, “My attention has been drawn to a libellous press release signed by a self-styled Emperor Jarret Tenebe, where my name was mentioned as one of those mobilising thugs to disrupt the Saturday election in Esan Land (Edo Central Senatorial District).

“I take exception to that reckless statement coming from the mouth of a deserter soldier man. It is clear that Tenebe needs urgent mental health attention, and he should not be taken seriously.

“Tenebe has become a disgrace to the APC. He is known for his reckless talks; he talks before thinking.”

He urged the people of Edo Central to go about their civic duties peacefully and turn out to vote.

“The APC must begin to watch the activities of Jarret Tenebe. He is known in the past to make this kind of reckless statement so that the APC can release money to him to counter the so-called imaginary thugs. This must be one of such statements to collect money from the APC.

“Once again, I deny any involvement in the death of Inspector Akor. I was not on Airport Road on the day of the incident, nor did I plan or conspire with anyone. I am innocent of the allegations. It is now clear that it was Tenebe who framed up the allegations against me just to smear my hard-earned reputation.

“Being an innocent and law-abiding Nigerian, I have already instituted a libel action against Jaret Tenebe and his cohorts. We are in court, and I believe I will get justice”, he stated.