From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
A group under the auspices of the Gombe Progressives Assembly (GPA) has called on the Inspector-General of Police( IGP) to “fish out and prosecute prominent politicians that sponsored thugs to set ablaze the Campaign Office of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate of the State, Muhammad Barde.
President of the group, Yahaya Ibrahim in a press statement on Saturday, described the burning of the office of the PDP governorship candidate as “a smear on decorum, abuse of democratic freedom of choice and participation as well as destroying the fabric of Nigerian democracy.”
The statement noted that it was unacceptable for politicians who feel threatened by Barde’s growing popularity to use their influence in such a destructive manner, insisting that “they must all be arrested, to prove that no one is above the law”.
The group, in the statement, noted that it was “setting a bad example in a democracy to organise and finance thugs to physically attack the infrastructure of the opposition party.”
The group advised the Inspector-General of police to “step up action by going after not just the thugs but their sponsors no matter how highly placed.
“We are worried that the international community would be having a wrong impression about our level of political tolerance, and our image in the comity of nations.
“We expected the national leadership of the APC to condemn this arson and call on security agents to take decisive action.”
They also called on the Office of the National Security Adviser( NSA) to “intervene in this dangerous political culture of sponsoring physical assault and arson against opposition elements in Gombe State, “because we cannot afford violence after the signing of the national peace pact for 2023 general elections.”