APC, SDP Bicker Over Attack On Kogi REC’s Residence

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) have continued to trade blame over the attack on the residence of the Kogi State Residence Electoral Commissioner, Gabriel Longpet, on Friday.

Naija News had earlier reported that unknown gunmen, in the early hours of Friday, December 1, attacked the residence of the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Lokoja, the Kogi state capital.

The APC campaign council demanded the arrest and prosecution of the SDP gubernatorial candidate during a press conference on Friday.

According to the Director of Media and Publicity for the APC Campaign Council, Kingsley Fanwo, there is sufficient proof that Murtala Ajaka and his SDP allies are violent and should be held accountable for the events at the REC’s house.

The attack, according to Fanwo, was carried out days after it informed the public about SDP thugs’ plans to attack INEC.

He alleged that “They have finally done their worst by attacking the residence of the Kogi State INEC Commissioner, engaging security agents in a fierce gun battle, and eventually burning down some vehicles in the residence and the area.

“The same arsonists also had an attempt to burn down the Kogi State Government House foiled by our eagle-eye security agents. The same attempt was foiled at the State APC Secretariat in Lokoja.”

The APC claims that the SDP in the state and those who work with them are desperate to destroy some documents at INEC in order to hide the theft they allegedly carried out in Kogi East, where they killed APC supporters and forced them from collation centers in order to falsify the results that were ultimately overridden by the overwhelming number of Kogites who cast ballots for the governor-elect.

The Social Democratic Party, however, refuted any role in the vicious attack on the residents of the Kogi REC.

The Director, New Media, Muri/ Sam Campaign Organisation, David Ijele, in a statement issued on Friday, strongly condemned the assassination attempt on the REC.

He cleared that “Election should not be treated as a war, nor should it be a matter of life and death. If the election was won fairly and transparently, then the legal process should be allowed to run its course without interference. However, it is unacceptable for thugs, in their high numbers yesterday, to be subject to fake protests, insisting that, on no account should forensic teams not be allowed to do their jobs.

“We are grateful for the timely intervention of the Army, as the man and his family could have been wiped out overnight. The attackers also burnt his vehicles and took other valuables. This kind of behavior is not acceptable in a democratic society.”