The aides were disengaged following the conclusion of investigations into the attack on Abdulrahman Abubakar Sheriff, the councillor representing Shamaki Ward in Gombe Local Government Area.
The Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has approved the immediate dismissal of four of his aides over their alleged involvement in the physical assault of a councillor, SaharaReporters has learned.
The aides were disengaged following the conclusion of investigations into the attack on Abdulrahman Abubakar Sheriff, the councillor representing Shamaki Ward in Gombe Local Government Area.
SaharaReporters had reported how the serving councillor representing Shamaki Ward in Gombe Local Government Area of Gombe State was assaulted and publicly humiliated by a driver attached to Abubakar Inuwa Kari, the Chief of Staff to the Gombe State Governor, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya.
In a disturbing video obtained by SaharaReporters, the councillor was seen seated on his motorcycle when the driver descended on him, punching and hitting him repeatedly in broad daylight.
The visibly helpless councillor could be heard begging his attacker to stop, as shocked passersby also pleaded for calm.
Meanwhile, in the video, the driver ignored all pleas and instead became more aggressive, threatening to attack anyone who attempted to intervene.
At one point, the driver was heard speaking in Hausa, angrily asking whether the councillor considered himself a “mate” of the Chief of Staff to be speaking or acting in a manner he found disrespectful.
Despite continuous appeals from the councillor and members of the public, the attacker reportedly persisted, repeatedly striking and humiliating the elected official without restraint.
Reacting, a statement issued on Tuesday by the governor’s spokesperson, Ismaila Uba Misilli, said the decision was conveyed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof Ibrahim Abubakar Njodi, after the findings of a special committee set up to probe the incident.
According to the statement, the committee’s report, which was further corroborated by security agencies, informed the governor’s decision to sack the aides.
Those dismissed are Adamu Abdullahi Danko, Senior Special Assistant II (Domestic); Garba Mohammed Mai Rago, Senior Special Assistant II (Political); Rabiu Sulaiman Abubakar, Senior Special Assistant II (Social Media); and Ali Ibrahim Baban Kaya, Senior Special Assistant II (Community Relations).
Governor Yahaya directed that the disengagement should take immediate effect and ordered the affected officers to hand over all government property in their possession to the appropriate authorities without delay.
Misilli said the governor reiterated his administration’s “zero tolerance for violence, misconduct and abuse of office.”