Gubernatorial campaign turns bloody in Bauchi as supporters of two rival parties clash;
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From Ardo A Bauchi
As political parties intensify there campaign in rural areas, a clash by two rival parties has left one dead as a result of gunshots injury sustained when the Gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressive Party Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar visited Dambam the home town of the Chairman of PDP Hamza Akuyam.
Police Public Relations Officer PPRO SP Mohammed Ahmed Wakil confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with newsmen in Bauchi, He said yesterday “what happened last Monday around 8:30PM gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress APC Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar on his way from Dambam to Akuyam for campaign, on reaching Akuyam town his entourage was attacked by supposed rival Party supporters and on that note his escort open fire where two persons Saleh Garba 35 old and Yakubu Yunusa 20 year old all of Akuyam Village were shot and they were evacuated to Federal Medical Center Azare for treatment “.Wakil said “today Tuesday we received a confirmation that one of them was dead while receiving treatment “He said the Commissioner of Police Aminu Alhassan ordered for discreet investigation to commence in earnest over the incident and pray to Allah to grant the debased eternal rest and to give their families fortitude to bear the irreparabale loss.
Police Spokesman said on 24th November the Commissioner of Police met with Poitical Parties and Political actors where he reminded them to play the game according to the game, and reminded them the electoral act prohibited political parties and political actors not to use abusive language in their campaign.
But reacting to the incident in an interview with journalists, the Director Media and Communications, to Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar, Alhaji Shehu Barau, said that they did not attack anyone, adding however, that “it was the opposition that attacked us.”
Barau, a former Commissioner of Information in Bauchi State under the then Yuguda administration, despite the fact that they were attacked, they pleaded with their supporters not to fight back.
“I was not there but from the information we gathered, we were able to confirm from the incident of yesterday, that our people were attacked and about 15 to 20 cars were smashed. Some people from our own side got injured.
“I personally noticed that there were some people on trees throwing stones and all those attacks were on us not on any other person in Akuyam that was the first day. We were able to escape out of the town.
“From all the information I gathered, it was confirmed to me that our people were attacked yesterday like they were attacked the day before and they tried to escape from that side.
” Asked who it was that carried out the attack, he said that “it was the opposition that carried out the attack. Asked to be specific on which “opposition” he was referring to, he said:
“It was clear that it was the opposition that attacked us because we cannot attack ourselves “You cannot be your own attacker and as far as we are concerned, the opposition party attacked us. There are many opposition parties, there’s the NNPP, the PRP and the PDP. It is now left for you to know who attacked us.
‘Though we were attacked and our cars were damaged, we asked our people not to retaliate.
“We were in Misau, nothing happened, along all the routes leading to Misau, we were at Darazo, we stopped at Sade, came to Hardawa, all those times that we were there, we attacked nobody and nobody attacked us.
” Speaking on the incident, the Media Aide to the gubernatorial candidate said that their convoy was first attacked on Sunday night when they earlier went to Akuyam town to campaign.
Barau who refuted reports that two people were killed in the incident, said: “I didn’t hear that anybody was killed nor did I see anybody being killed.
On what happened at Akuyam yesterday (Monday), let me take you back to the day before yesterday, Sunday. “Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar who’s contesting the gubernatori
