Politicians plan bloody polls

Tension heightened in some states on Monday as the nation prepares for the rescheduled National Assembly elections on Saturday. In the states – Osun, Oyo, Ekiti, Bayelsa and Kano – there were seizures of arms, bullet-proof vests and imported military uniforms, alleged assassination attempts as well as threats of violence. The tension was worse in Osun State where the police command discovered a cache of arms in the operational base of a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain in Osu. The arms included 19 new pump action rifles, 14 cartridges and one machete. Expended ammunition and expended cartridges were also recovered from the politicians, alleged base on Ajido Street on Wednesday. The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Peter Gana, told journalists in Osogbo that the police were on the trail of the politician. Gana said, “Upon information today (Wednesday) that arms were hidden at AA4 Ajido Street, Osu, a team of policemen led by the DPO struck immediately and upon presentation of a search warrant, 19 brand new pump action rifles, 14 cartridges, three 7.62mm expended ammunition, two expended cartridges and one long machete were recovered at the scene.” The police boss added that six guns were recovered from eight hoodlums in Ila-Orangun by a vigilance group on April 1, 2011, Gana, who said that notable political figures had been fingered as the sponsors of the hoodlums, added that four guns were also found in a Peugeot 504 station wagon in Osogbo on April 1. He disclosed that four of the occupants escaped while two were arrested. As Gana briefed journalists, the Nigeria customs Service in Kano, said that about 190 pairs of military uniforms and bullet-proof vests illegally brought into the country were impounded at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport on Tuesday. The Area Comptroller of the NCS, Alhaji Usman Azare, explained that the seized items arrived the country via a flight marked No. 0573 from Beirut. Azare disclosed that two persons simply identified as Imam and Bashir had been arrested in connection with the uniforms and bullet proof vests which were concealed in eight cartons. He said, “The most interesting thing about these goods is that they are coming in at a particular time when our democracy is being tested to the limit. We in Customs and other agencies working with us will continue to keep vigil on any item that comes through our airports.” In Bayelsa State, an explosion that rocked a hotel said to be owned by the wife of the reinstated Deputy Governor of the state, Mr. Peremobowei Ebebi, on Tuesday night created fear among the residents. It was learnt that unknown persons threw explosives suspected to be dynamites into Latik Hotel located in Kpansia, Yenagoa Local Government Area. The kitchen of the hotel was partially torched while the windows and doors of the hotel were damaged. No casualty was recorded in the incident which occurred three days after some youths engaged the Joint Task Force in a gun duel at Ekeremor Local Government Area, the home town of Ebebi. Following the Tuesday explosion, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Aderenle Shinaba, summoned officials of the Bomb Disposal Unit on Wednesday morning to his office. The commissioner and the bomb experts visited the hotel at about 2pm as part of their efforts to investigate the incident. Shinaba, who assessed the damage done by the blast described the incident as unfortunate and promised to fish out the perpetrators. There were, however, fears of assassination attempts on the lives of the Peoples Party of Nigeria in Ogun State, Alhaji Ismaila Odejinmi, and a member of the House of Representatives from Oyo State, Mr. Lanre Agoro. While Odejinmi’s home in Abeokuta was attacked on Tuesday night by gunmen, Agoro said that his life was no longer safe because security agencies were being used to harass and intimidate him. Odejimi was said to be away when the hoodlums arrived his home. Although his wife and children were not hurt, the gunmen damaged his Mercedes Benz car, marked Lagos KM 533 AAA with bullets. Some property inside the building were also destroyed by the three-member gang that operated for about 30 minutes. Odejinmi while speaking in an interview with one of our correspondents on Wednesday said, “The attack is political. There is no other thing than that. We are fighting with the PDP. We left them and went to the PPN. PDP is responsible for the attack.” But the state Chairman of the PDP, Chief Dayo Soremi, challenged the PPN chieftain to substantiate or produce evidence to back-up the claims. On his part, Agoro, claimed that the state government resorted to harassing him when it became obvious that the PDP would lose the election in his constituency (Irepo/Orelope/Olorunsogo) and, indeed, the state. The former member of the PDP, who is seeking re-election into the House of Representatives on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria, said his problem was because he left the PDP for the ACN. Efforts to get the comment of the state Director of the State Security Services, Mr. Charles Ugwu, proved abortive, but the police spokesman, Mr. Tunji Ajimuda, said he was yet to be briefed of the development. Also on Wednesday, a former Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, urged security agencies and other relevant authorities in the country to put an end to the free use of arms and ammunition in the state He warned that the trend had characterised electioneering in Ekiti. Fayose also alleged that some desperate politicians in the state were bent on unleashing violence in order to perpetrate rigging in the elections. He claimed that some politicians in the state had adopted the slogan: “Maximum violence, minimum vote.” Fayose said, “If nothing is done to check the excesses of overzealous military personnel, then free and fair election in Ekiti State should be forgotten. “There is a grand plan to cause violence in Ekiti State; all thugs caught with arms and ammunition should be transferred to Abuja so that politicians don’t negotiate their release through the backdoor. “There is so much importation of thugs in Ekiti, before last Saturday’s botched National Assembly election, there were too many killings across the state, desperate politicians are responsible for the orgy of violence, there may be crisis because the people are prepared to defend their votes.” Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police Force has vowed that all those arrested in connection with election and pre-election violence will be prosecuted. The Police said that arrangements had been concluded to charge all those arrested last Saturday during the botched National Assembly election to court. The Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Yemi Ajayi, who spoke with one of our correspondents on the telephone on Wednesday, assured Nigerians that the Police would not treat the case of those arrested with levity. Story by: Olusola Fabiyi, Francis Falola, Sesan Olufowobi, Mustapha Salihu, Olalekan Adetayo, and Mike Odiegwu. By Agency Reporter Courtesy Of: Punch