By Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
A House of Representatives candidate on the platform of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) from Bauchi Local Government federal constituency of Bauchi State, Hon. Yakubu Shehu Abdullahi, has alleged that policemen arrested 22 of his supporters on Thursday shortly after rounding off his campaign ahead of Saturday’s election.
Addressing journalists Friday, the House of Representatives candidate said he got the approval of all security agencies in the state before he embarked on the rally and expressed shock that the police arrested his supporters and stormed one of his houses where he used to hold political meetings and arrested his supporters ‘without committing any offence’.
Abdullahi, who described the incident as despicable, alleged that the arrest was masterminded by the state government to intimidate him and his party members.
He therefore urged the Inspector General of Police (IG) to call his officers in the state to order and ask them to release the arrested party stalwarts and stop further intimidation.
However, when contacted, the spokesperson of the police in the state, DSP Kamal Datti Abubakar, said the arrested persons were suspected political thugs, adding that they were apprehended with sticks along Wunti Street during the rally.
