Election Violence: Two Die as Thugs Set NNPP Campaign Office Ablaze in Kano

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

Kano State Police Command yesterday said that  at about 4:00 on Sunday, reports were received that, while the collation of results was ongoing at Tudun Wada LGA INEC Office, a group of thugs in large numbers mobilised and attacked the Campaign Office of NNPP House of Representatives Candidate.

Police Spokesman in Kano, Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa yesterday said this in a  statement made available to THISDAY.

According to him, the thugs torched the building, setting it ablaze with two unknown persons in a stationary motor vehicle inside the building burnt to death.

“The hoodlums again mobilised and attempted to block the road leading to the INEC Office” Kiyawa added.

He explained that security personnel were immediately mobilised to the scene.

It was gathered that, while investigation is in progress, one of the thugs was fatally injured and was rushed to hospital where he died while receiving treatment. Four other suspected thugs were, where however, arrested.

Meanwhile, the former member House of Representatives from Gwarzo-Kabo constituency, and candidate of the NNPP, Nasiru Sule Garo, has rejected the election result recently announced by INEC.

He announced this reaction Sunday night at an emergency press conference in Kano following the declaration of his opponent from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner by INEC after a polling unit in his constituency was canceled due to over-voting.

He complained that the action taken by INEC after it was observed that there was over-voting in the polling unit, when they added the result of the canceled polling unit contradicts the Electoral Act.

He therefore, stated that he along with his party would  reclaim what he describes as the “stolen mandate of the people.”

 “I represented the NNPP in the just concluded elections. I am here purposely to reject the results of the elections as declared by INEC.

“I am rejecting this result because I am actually the one that the people actually voted for to represent them at the National Assembly.

“However, there was massive collaboration between the state government, the security agencies and the INEC in which they went and changed all the results.

“We actually have two physical pieces of evidence that involve collaboration and non collaboration between the security and INEC.

“Firstly, the Electoral Act is clear on over voting. What it says is that if there is over voting in a polling unit even with one vote, that polling unit should be canceled.

“More so, my agent who was there and insisted that they cannot include that polling unit and have to cancel it based on the position of the Electoral Act, the APC people who insisted that they must add it and include it in their result. Because of his insistence, the collaboration with the state government and the security agencies, the Orderly of the former commissioner of local government mobilised security agents and arrested my agent around 3:00 am, brought him to the state police command detained him and left him there.

“This means that I was left in that polling unit without an agent. We just got him out of their hands through bail. This is a clear collaboration between security agencies and the state government.

“Secondly, that of INEC is that if there is cancellation of a polling unit and you bring the votes that were canceled, automatically if the canceled votes are above the margin between the two leading candidates, that result has to be declared inconclusive.

“In my own case, there are cancellation of polling units and the number of voters that are in that polling unit are above the difference between me and my opponent but they went ahead and. declare that result thereby declaring the loser as the winner.

“We have other clear evidence which we will not reveal to the press at the moment. We have to go back and reclaim the victory. It is not for me or the NNPP, it is for the people who voted, the good people of Gwarzo-Kabo constituency.

“The people have given me their mandate but the security, state government and INEC have stolen their mandate.

INEC had announced the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Muazu as the winner after disqualifying the NPP candidate.

However, presidential candidate of ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) Bola Ahmed Tinubu scored the highest votes for the 2023 general election in Jigawa state.

While former vice president and also the candidate of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Atiku Abubakar followed with 386,587 votes.

Announcing the results, the collation officer for the 2023 presidential election in Jigawa state, Professor Arma-Ya’u Hamisu Bichi from Federal University Dutsin Ma said, the election was conducted peacefully and the contestants scored the following votes.

He explained that, the total registered votes is 2,341,441 and total votes accredited is 961,670 while the total votes cast stand at 954,805.

Professor Bichi announced the scores by each party as APC scored 421,390, LP scored 1,889, NNPP 98,234 while PDP scored 386,587 votes.

He then, announced the total valid votes as 920,531, rejected votes stood at 34,274 while the total cast votes remained 954,805.