Bauchi Guber: Dogara accuses Police of collaborating with the government  to defeat APC

By Mukaila Danladi

The Bauchi State Police Command has been accused of collaborating with the state government to make things difficult for the state chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Saturday's elections.

The allegation is coming three days to the conduct of the gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections as tension continues to build up between the ruling APC which is in opposition in the state and PDP, the ruling party in Bauchi State.

Also, the allegation is coming shortly after the Police Command declared one of the chieftains of APC, Yakubu Abdullahi, member representing Bauchi Federal Constituency, wanted for alleged criminal offences. 

The immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Barr Yakubu Dogara, made the allegation when he addressed journalists on Wednesday at the residence of the APC gubernatorial candidate, Saddique Baba Abubakar. 

He said: "I don't want to say it, but, it is glaring that there is a collusion between the authorities and the state government to come hard on members of the opposition particularly the APC.

 "The Governor has been telling a lot of lies in order to cover his tracks; why are the authorities going after members of the APC knowing that he has lost. They want to assist him, we don't know but it is a conjecture, but otherwise, why are you breaking the law?"

Yakubu Dogara also said that the  allegation levelled against the serving APC member representing Bauchi Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Yakubu Shehu Abdullahi, popularly known as ‘Yakubu Wowo’ who was declared wanted for criminal conspiracy,  disturbance of public peace and culpable homicide, was all based on a bucket of lies.
The Police had also announced a N1million reward for anyone with useful information that could lead to the 45-year-old lawmaker's arrest.

According to Yakubu Dogara, the Police in the state failed to follow due process of arresting a serving lawmaker by declaring him wanted, making the whole situation suspicious.

Dogara said nobody caught the lawmaker with guns or shooting people to death;  "they are saying that he imported some people with sticks but they did not say that he killed anyone."

The former Speaker alleged  that the Police was partnering with the government in order to come hard on members of the APC, knowing that the incumbent state Governor was losing out already, adding that the Governor was telling lies in a bid to cover his tracks in which the police is trying to assist him.

According to him, "We are here to respond to the allegations against Honourable Yakubu Shehu Abdullahi who is being accused of some allegations by the Police. Everybody knows that he is a sitting member of the House of Representatives and I was once a Speaker of the House of Representatives, I know the process of inviting a member who is accused of commiting an offence and this is a mere accusation."

The former Speaker added:  "The Governor was told some of these things, some of us were there, it's not hear say; I was part of the campaign team that went to Alkaleri, the Governor's hometown in Duguri. I want to ask: why is it that some of these incidences of violence are always happening in particular locations?"

According to him, "Air Marshal (APC Governorship candidate) has gone to all the local government areas of the state for campaigns, but the incidences were isolated and it happened in Akuyam which is the home town of the Chairman of PDP, it happened in Warji which is the Local Government of the present Commissioner of Local government and everybody knows that this man has been threatening violence against APC members in all his videos.

"The last incidence of violence was at the home town of the sitting Governor in Duguri. When we set out for campaigns, we started from Tafawa Balewa town, held rallies at different villages. If we were going there to kill people, by the time we got to Duguri, maybe we would have killed a thousand, but the people received us with a rousing welcome and we addressed those rallies without any single incidence of violence."

Yakubu Dogara: "Let me say this, I saw it myself, not that I was told, because I was there. When we got into Duguri town proper, apart from the fact that we visited the District Head's palace, we went to his house for the Muslim brothers to say their prayers, so if we wanted to kill people in Duguri, we would have started from his house.

"But by the time prayers were said, we went to Duguri town to address the people of the town that gathered at the venue of the rally and we saw this young man holding a loud speaker, he was telling people to come out with weapons to fight the APC members."

"Why is the Police breaking the law in relation to Honourable Yakubu Shehu Abdullahi? If he has committed any offence, give him that opportunity and follow the law, invite him, let him answer to those accusations. I was there, I saw Yakubu, he was in the car, he did not have a dane gun, he didn't have one single weapon, not even a stick, so why are you accusing him of killing who or for orchestrating what." 

The former Speaker vowed to take action against the Police to ensure that the right thing was done stressing that injustice should not thrive just as he expressed optimism that the Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir would be defeated on Saturday.