The lawmaker representing Ogbadibo, Okpokwu and Ado Federal Constituencies in the House of Assembly, Hassan Saleh, has described the death of six persons at an All Progressives Congress (APC) meeting in Benue State as barbaric, criminal and undemocratic.
A statement by Saleh at the weekend blamed the violence on an aspirant for the state chairmanship, who he said was being imposed by some forces outside the zone.
The statement reads: “We came to Otukpo for the meeting to discuss issues concerning the upcoming APC congresses from ward to the National level, as well as the resolution of the NEC.
“I came with the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh; former Senate President Ameh Ebute; Chief Mike Onoja and some other stakeholders.
“When we arrived, the meeting was on and the hall was filled with thugs. Those invited to the meeting were not allowed to express themselves freely because of heckling from the thugs.
“The Zonal Chairman yielded the floor to Ogbeh and Senator Ebuteh, and in their speeches, they cautioned the party against imposing candidates, but to ensure that congresses were held at various stages and whoever wanted to contest for any position should be allowed to do so.
“The two elders were shouted down; the meeting ended in chaos and we left the venue. But to our shock, we heard news that the about 150 thugs engaged each other in a free-for -all fight over money. There were reports of the use of dangerous weapons, while gun shots were fired freely.”
According to Hon. Saleh, those behind the violence are becoming desperate in their desire to maintain a stronghold on the party machinery. But he said the plot will not work as the people were tired of aspirants being sponsored by some forces.
He urged the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies to investigate the violence and prosecute the perpetrators.
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