SaharaReporters had reported that the governor threatened members of the opposition parties, saying he would "show" them.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the videos which showed Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, threatening to attack the opposition ahead of the 2023 general elections brought insight into several crimes committed against the party's members.
SaharaReporters had reported that the governor threatened members of the opposition parties, saying he would "show" them.
“Whoever trespasses, if we pick him or her, he will never sight the sun again. In this coming election, I’m going to show the opposition people; who is Yahaya Bello. If there is white lion, if there is no white lion, we will know in this one,” Bello said in the videos obtained by SaharaReporters.
This comes barely 24 hours after the governor had first boasted that he would deal harshly with anyone saying bad things about his administration in the state.
He had also bragged that he could handle a gun better than the people he was addressing, despite not being a security agent.
“If I hear any rumour or hear anybody murmuring, even if it’s in the person’s room and I said I want to see the person and you cannot provide him, then be prepared to be the person’s substitute,” Bello who contested the ruling All Progressives Congress presidential primary was heard saying.
However, in a statement released on Thursday by PDP Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the opposition party described Bello's words in the viral videos as a means of manipulating people's choices ahead of the 2023 election by creating unnecessary fear in their minds.
The opposition party also urged the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, to launch an immediate investigation into Governor Bello's activities in order to halt the dangerous trend.
The PDP said, “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is alarmed by the disturbing video of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State inciting his supporters, threatening to burn and unleash maximum violence on Nigerians during the 2023 general elections.
“In the video, Governor Bello was heard issuing terrorism threats in which he said, “I will personally light a fierce fire in my hand whoever want it we shall use it to burn them, whoever survive it will thank God… Whoever is against us we will make him or her join my mother and lie with her (my mother) in grave.”
“By FBI definition, terrorism is the “unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives”.
“This brazen threat by Governor Yahaya Bello raises apprehensions in the public space of the existence of a killer squad established to inflict violence on Nigerians ahead of the 2023 general elections just because they have rejected the corrupt, divisive and rudderless All Progressives Congress (APC), which failure is most manifest by Yahaya Bello’s abysmal performance in Kogi State.
“From his outburst, Nigerians now know the individuals who engineered the gruesome killing of many of our citizens including the PDP Woman Leader in Kogi State, Mrs. Salome Abu, who was burnt alive in her house in 2019,
“Also, Nigerians now have more insight into the disappearance of Hon. Adelabu Musa, the PDP Chairman in Okene Local Government Area for over three years now.
“Furthermore, the PDP recalls how the Bello-led Kogi State Government was accused of breeding and arming thugs as well as fake security operatives to harass and attack Nigerians in Kogi State during the 2019 general elections.
“This threat to violence and actual violence to Nigerians especially at this time has the capacity to cause a breach of public peace, truncate the 2023 electoral process and derail our democracy.
“The PDP therefore calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately call Governor Yahaya Bello to order and place him and his supporters on security watch list as threat to democracy ahead of the 2023 general elections.
“Our Party also charges the Inspector General of Police to immediately commence a comprehensive investigation into the activities of Governor Yahaya Bello with a view to nipping this ugly trend in the bud as well as prosecuting him at the end of his tenure as Governor of Kogi State.
“We urge Nigerians, especially those in Kogi State not to be deterred by Yahaya Bello whose days in office are numbered but to remain vigilant and continue to rally with the PDP in the determination to liberate our nation from the stranglehold of the APC and the likes of Yahaya Bello, come 2023.”