Barely 48 hours to the governorship election in Nigeria, the Department of State Services has arrested two political thugs of a surging political party in Kano over threats of violence.
The DSS in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Dr. Peter Afunanya, gave the names of the suspects taken into its custody as Sharu Abubakar Tabula and Isma’il Iliyasu Mangu.
The two men recorded video messages and posted them online with a strong warning to deal ruthlessly with any person in Kano who votes against their preferred party and candidate in the governorship race on Saturday.
But they were trailed and arrested by DSS operatives after which the service released the pictures of the two men aged 37 and 52 and warned that anyone who threatens public peace during the election will be dealt with.
The DSS said: “The Department of State Services (DSS) hereby informs the public that it has arrested the duo of Sharu Abubakar Tabula and Isma’il Iliyasu Mangu for deliberately inciting violence in parts of Kano State.
“In those potentially harmful messages, the two men specifically championed certain political interests and directly called on their supporters to violently attack those opposed to them, including security personnel during the 18th March, 2023 Governorship and House of Assembly election in the State.
“As a result of this development, a particular political party in Kano has threatened to organise protest march in the metropolis as well as storm offices of some of the security agencies on 16th March, 2023 in solidarity for the suspects.
“While the Service alerts the public of this planned illegal action, it calls on the concerned party to shelve it forthwith or be ready to face the consequences.
SOURCE: VANGUARD
