Police confirm attack on Kogi election panel official, as Appeal Court relocates tribunal to Abuja
The Kogi Police Command on Wednesday confirmed an attack on the Secretary of the State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, Mr. David Mike, on Monday by gunmen.
A statement issued in Lokoja by the command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Williams Ovye-Aya, said the secretary was attacked along with two other persons on the day.
Ovye-Aya warned the public from making inflammatory statements on the incident, which he said was under investigation.
“On Monday, Dec. 4, at about 1820hrs, one Mr. David Mike (M) Secretary to Kogi governorship election petition tribunal, along with Labode Apreala (F) Confidential Secretary and Hassimu Adamu Assistant Secretary, came to State Criminal Investigation Department, Kogi State Police Headquarters and reported that they were attacked by gunmen.”
“On the date (Dec. 4) three of them left their hotel rooms in Lokoja about 1300hrs, heading to their office at the High Court Complex, driving in his (David’s) Peugeot 406 car, but that just before the CBN at about 1320hrs, one SUV vehicle which had earlier overtaken him, blocked his car with two other SUVS following behind.
“All of them (attackers) surrounded and blocked him as he attempted to reverse.
“That he (Mike) saw about seven hooded men all heavily armed and dressed in black attire, who shot severally into the air and dragged him and his two other colleagues out of their car, ransacked the car and made away with all the documents, including petitions filed by four parties.
“The names of the parties are Action Alliance (AA), Action People’s Party (APP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP).”
The items also included two record books and a bag containing his personal items.
He claimed to have also reported to the DSS Office,” Ovye-Aya said.
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He said the Police Commissioner, Bethrand Onuoha, had ordered for a thorough and diligent investigation into the incident.
He explained that the statement on the attack became imperative following series of distorted information on the incident, hence the need to set the records straight.
“The command hereby advises the general public to avoid making statements that might prejudice ongoing investigation into the matter.
“The command also appeals to anyone with useful information on the alleged incident to provide same to the Command,” Ovye-Aya said.
He, however, pledged to update the public as investigation progressed.
Nevertheless, APC had earlier said that the Social Democratic Party (SDP) should be investigated over the alleged attack, to save the nation’s democracy.
Mr. Kingsley Fanwo, Director of Media and Publicity, APC Governorship Campaign Council, had made the call in Lokoja on Tuesday.
But the Kogi SDP, through its Counsel, J.S. Okutepa (SAN), had also raised the alarm over the attack and accused the APC of using hired thugs in Lokoja.
Meanwhile, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, the President of the Court of Appeal, has relocated the Kogi Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal from Lokoja to Abuja.
A statement by Mr. David Umar Mike, Secretary of the Tribunal, said that its sittings would now be at the National Judicial Institute on Umaru Yar’Adua Way.
It urged litigants to take note of the change in venue.
The statement was silent on the reason behind the relocation, but a top source at the tribunal said the step was necessitated by “security reasons.”
The source said that members of staff of the tribunal had been attacked on several occasions in Loloja.
“Just last Monday, tribunal officials were attacked on the way to the office.
“Armed men just pounced on the officials. They robbed them of everything. They took away all the documents that were in the car.
“Copies of petitions and personal belongings, official receipts, processes like subpoena, official stamps, were all stolen.
“Generally, thugs are frustrating the job and the lives of our officials are at stake, making it difficult to work there,” the source said.
- NAN