The Kogi State Government has denied the allegation by the Social Democratic Party its witnesses in the ongoing election petition tribunal were attacked by agents of the state government.
The SDP is challenging the victory of the All Progressives Congress in the November 2023 governorship poll.
The SDP leadership on Friday, raised the alarm over the alleged attacks on its members who appeared as witnesses before the Kogi State gubernatorial election tribunal sitting at the National Judiciary Institute in Abuja.
The party’s National Chairman, Shehu Musa Gabam, had urged President Bola Tinubu and the heads of the nation’s security forces to intervene in the national interest.
But the state Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, during a press conference on Saturday in Lokoja, the state capital, said there was no evidence to support SDPs’ claim that their witnesses were attacked at the tribunal.
He said, “Our attention has been drawn to a headless allegation by the Social Democratic Party to the effect that the state government allegedly attacked their witnesses in the ongoing tribunal.
“The allegation drifted into the abyss further by claiming that supporters of the thoroughly defeated candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the election, one Muritala Ajaka, were attacked.
“We wouldn’t have bothered to respond to the barking of the SDP and its leadership as the state government is busy with governance; but it is important to set the record straight and address the minds of the public to the tradition of lies by the SDP.”
The commissioner said the state government, under the leadership of Ahmed Ododo, will be undaunted in its resolve to serve the people of the state rather than be entangled in the propaganda by the SDP.
“The Kogi State Government is unwavering in its stance on security and constitutionalism as the basic minimum in ensuring a peaceful and secured state.
“It is important to enlighten the SDP about the fact that the case at the yribunal is between parties of which the state government isn’t one. It is the responsibility of the government to protect all citizens irrespective of their political or religious persuasions”, Fanwo said.
“It is clear that SDP’s petition is suffering an irreversible setback at the tribunal as the comedians they presented as witnesses probably didn’t rehearse their lines well or they are falling because their claims have their foundation in fiction.
“It will be unacceptable for them to vent their impending failure on the state government that is doing all it can provide security for all in the state,” he added.
He also noted that the state government doesn’t subscribe to violence and actions that breach the peace of the state.”
