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February 22, 2023
SaharaReporters had reported that the duo of Haruna and Okolo had been accused of leading armed attacks on opposition members of the PDP in the constituency.
The House of Representatives’ candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for Dekina/Bassa federal constituency in the Saturday's presidential and National Assembly elections, Mr Usman Okai, has petitioned the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), against his All Progressives Congress challenger, Gowon Haruna, over threats to life and plans to unleash violence during the polls.
Okai in a petition to the DG DSS, dated February 16 and received on February 17 accused Haruna who is popularly known as IJN, and the current Chairman of Dekina Local Government Area, Prince Ishaq Okolo, of training and distributing firearms to militia group to destibilise the forthcoming elections and plot to assassinate some key members of the PDP in the area.
SaharaReporters had reported that the duo of Haruna and Okolo had been accused of leading armed attacks on opposition members of the PDP in the constituency.
It had been reported that Emewe-Opada in Dekina LGA was thrown into turmoil penultimate Wednesday, when political thugs working for the Council chairman, Prince Ishiaqa Okolo, unleashed mayhem on members of the opposition political parties in the area.
Several people including teenagers, SaharaReporters reliably gathered, were shot and macheted during a campaign rally of the PDP in the council.
Several pictures and video footage seen by SaharaReporters on the attack showed people with machete cuts on their head and teenagers shot on the thighs dripping blood.
However, Akai in the petition accused IJN and Prince Okolo of consistently intimidating and threatening his life and that of notable PDP stakeholders, youth leaders, and party supporters in Dekina and Bassa Local Government Areas, a development he said if not checked, would deny people their rights to vote for the candidates of their choice in the forthcoming polls.
The petition partly read, "I humbly write to bring to your attention the relentless intimidation and threat to my life, that of notable PDP leaders, party youth leaders and supporters from Dekina/Bassa federal constituency.
"There is an ongoing plan to violently disrupt my campaign rallies by the chairman of Dekina Local Government, Prince Ishaq Okolo and Hon Gowon Paul Haruna (IJN).
"There's also a plan to plant guns and other dangerous weapons in the houses and farmland of key members of my campaign team in connivance with the local vigilante networks operating within the local government area.
"Traditional Rulers are being blackmailed to indict some of my supporters and subsequently arrest them for possession of arms with the intent to disrupt the election.
"In the same vein, the candidate of the PDP, running for the state assembly in my constituency is not left out in this evil plot. There is a plan to violently attack my supporters, disrupt my campaign rallies and plant guns in my supporters houses, farmlands and initiate force flag attacks that are being put in motion to be executed a week before on 25th February 2023 when general election would be held.
"Four sienna space Buses with covered plate numbers have been dedicated to execute these nefarious attacks coordinated by the local government Chairman of Dekina, Prince Ishaq Okolo.
"The thugs he intends to use to execute his destabilizing agenda are made up of APC youth leaders in Dekina Local Government and the local vigilante group."
The petitioner added, "On a good authority, one Diyel Mopol, who is the head of thugs in Abocho / Ogbabede wards is currently camping and training some thugs in Abocho Area to complete elaborate arrangement of Prince Ishaq Okolo and that of IJN.
"Diyel Mopol, a notorious Thug in Abocho who is dreadfully feared by the Residents is regarded as Semi god in Obocho and its environs because of his violence anticedent in both the past and presence elections all in favour of APC.
"To these culprits in the petition, whoever is not voting for their Party, APC, is their enemy and such a person has the option of staying away or being attack.
"With these perfected plans by the culprits to carry out this dastardly act, We call on the Department of State Security Service to swiftly swing into action to investigate and arrest the situation before it leads to a catastrophic knowing fully well that such allegations ignored in the past, later led to needless bloodshed and violent disruption of the election in Abocho and the entire Ogbabede Ward in 2015 and 2019 respectively.
"From available fact, Dekina Local Government Area has a tragic history of electoral violence and we thus call on the Department of State Security Service (DSS) to take seriously this petition and put mechanism in place to forestall the violent disruption of the House of Representatives election in Dekina/Bassa and to guarantee the safety of my lives, that of notable party leaders in my constituency and my teeming supporters."