The commissioner of police in Kebbi State, CP Bello Sani, has said no arrest has been made over the attack on the convoy of former minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami by suspected political thugs.
Sani made the clarification when he addressed journalists after a security meeting with Governor Nasir Idris at the Government House in Birnin Kebbi.
He said the incident was still under investigation and no arrest had been made so far, but promised that the police would take it to a logical conclusion.
The ploce chief said it occurred around the Government Reserved Area (GRA) in the state capital when a convoy allegedly used a siren, despite a standing police ban on sirens by unauthorised persons. The disturbance, he noted, escalated into a violence, with thugs confronting the suspected convoy.
“Though campaigns have not officially commenced, there was a siren from a convoy around GRA in Birnin Kebbi, in violation of the police order. This led to a clash with a group of thugs who attacked the suspected convoy belonging to former AGF, Malami,” CP Bello stated.
In response to the incident, Governor Nasir Idris convened an emergency security meeting to review the situation and direct measures to avert further breakdown of law and order. According to CP Bello, political parties were later summoned and reminded of the ban on premature campaigns and the unauthorized use of sirens within the state.
The Police Commissioner assured that security agencies will deal decisively with troublemakers across Kebbi to ensure peace and stability as the state approaches the electioneering period.
In a related development, the All Progressives Congress ( APC) in Kebbi State has condemned in totality the attack on the former AGF, Abubakar Malami’s convoy by some suspected criminals on his way back home in GRA Birnin Kebbi after visiting some communities in the state capital Birnin Kebbi to console with them over the death of some prominent people in the state.
The party’s publicity secretary, Isah Abubakar Assalafi, condemned the incident during a press briefing held at the party’s secretariat in Birnin Kebbi.
Reacting to the attack, former attorney general, Abubakar Malami who is now a member of African Democratic Congress ( ADC ) said he was in Birnin Kebbi on Monday to pay condolences to the families of prominent individuals who died during his absence and not for political campaign and without a siren coming from his vehicles but was attacked by some unscrupulous elements with stones and other dangerous weapons on his way back home at GRA in Birnin Kebbi.
“This is painful, and we would not accept it. When it comes to politics in Kebbi State, there is no retreat, no surrender,” Malami said.
A member of the convoy who craved anonymity told LEADERSHIP that about 10 cars in the convoy were smashed, and many people in the convoy got various degrees of injuries in the attack.
