APC: PDP Recruiting Thugs to Disrupt Guber Poll in Katsina 

•DSS arrests three opposition chiefs in Kaduna for alleged incitement 

John Shiklam in Kaduna and Francis Sardaunain Katsina

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has raised the alarm over alleged plots by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to disrupt governorship and state House of Assembly elections in Katsina State.

This is as an official of the PDP governorship campaign council in Kaduna State, Saidu Adamu and two youth leaders of the party have been reportedly arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Director-General of the state’s APC Campaign Council, Ahmed Dangiwa, who revealed the alleged plots by PDP at a press conference in Katsina, said the opposition party hadperfected plans to recruit thugs from Zamfara and Kano states to disrupt the polls.

He alleged that the PDP was dazed by the growing popularity of the ruling APC and its governorship candidate, Dr. Dikko Umar Radda, hence the alleged resort to violence and desperation to reclaim power at all cost.

“We would like to draw the attention of security agencies in Katsina and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), that some mercenaries of PDP have planned to bring in thugs from Kano and Zamfara states. 

“They have made all arrangements to bring in these people in order to come and foment troubles for the Saturday’s governorship and state House of Assembly elections. We like to inform the security agencies to be on alert that this is the kind of thing that PDP does. 

“Throughout our campaign tour, we did not attack anybody but unfortunately, there was an attack on us in Danmarke, the hometown of the gubernatorial candidate of PDP, and that attack led to injuries to some of our supporters and destruction of some of campaign vehicles,” He said.

On the arrest of the PDP chiefs by the DSS, it was gathered that Adamu, a former information commissioner, who is the Assistant Director in the campaign council in charge of eletronic media, was arrested alongside the two youth leaders, El Abbas Muhammed and Talib Mohammed.

They were accused of allegedly inciting violence ahead of Saturday’s governorship election. 

Confirming the arrests yesterday in a telephone conversation, Abraham Alberah, spokesman of the PDP in the state, said the trio were arrested by the DSS for alleged incitement. 

Alberah also alleged that some members of the PDP campaign council had been marked for arrest by the DSS on the instruction of the APC government in the state. 

“The APC is using security agencies to intimidate the opposition in the face of glaring defeat awaiting it in Saturday’s governorship election. The DSS arrested them, claiming that they have been inciting violence. There is no doubt that the ruling party is using security agencies to intimidate us,” he said.