Nasarawa governor orders investigation into APC rally chaos

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has told security agencies to start investigating the disruption at the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign rally in Lafia on Wednesday. He wants those responsible to face justice.

Sule gave this order on Thursday. He held an expanded security meeting at the Government House in Lafia after the rally and reports about the Vice President Kashim Shettima's convoy being blocked during his visit to the Emir of Lafia.

He called the incident a serious issue, saying the Vice President attended the rally on behalf of President Bola Tinubu. He said, "The embarrassment was not to the state or the Presidential Campaign Council alone. It was an embarrassment to the Vice President on behalf of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That is the reason why we cannot take it lightly."

The governor asked security agencies to summon and question anyone suspected of being involved in the incidents, no matter their previous roles or status. He insisted that the investigation must go deeper than just arresting a few youths. He said, "We cannot, at the end of the day, after having such an embarrassment, just go and arrest five or six Almajiris and say that is the end of it. It will not work. The people responsible for this must be called to order."

Sule also showed concern about reports that some people had planned to disrupt the rally before it happened. He mentioned the attack on the Vice President’s convoy and the throwing of an object believed to be a shoe towards the podium where he and other governors stood.

He questioned why tear gas was used at the venue, especially around the podium. He called for a full investigation into how security personnel acted during the incident. The governor praised the military, the Department of State Services, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps for their quick response. He said he called the meeting to make sure all points were discussed before taking further steps.

He warned against letting political differences lead to violence, saying, "I don’t want us to behave like them. If we behave like them, believe me, the state will become ungovernable. That is how Boko Haram started."

Earlier, the Secretary to the Government of Nasarawa State, Labaran Shuaibu Magaji (SAN), said the meeting aimed to look into security failures and incidents during the presidential campaign rally. Magaji remembered that Sule had called a larger meeting of the local organizing committee on Monday, November 2, where security leaders updated the government on their plans and guaranteed that security was well arranged before, during, and after the rally.

He added that the governor kept regular contact with security leaders to ensure a peaceful event. Magaji said the Vice President’s visit to the Emir of Lafia's palace was not part of the original plan but was done at the Vice President's request to acknowledge the traditional institution.

He also claimed that some suspected opposition supporters, dressed in APC T-shirts, entered the rally venue, shouted opposition slogans, and threw an object towards the podium where Sule and other important guests were. Magaji criticized the police response, saying that instead of removing those creating trouble, they used tear gas that affected the podium where the governors were speaking.

He noted that the military, the DSS, and the NSCDC had to step in to restore order. The Secretary of the Government also highlighted reports of a meeting held before the rally to plan for its disruption. He mentioned videos on social media that raised questions about the involvement of some people.

He called for answers to key questions, including who planned the disruption, whether prior warnings were ignored, who attacked the Vice President’s convoy, and who threw the object at the dignitaries during the rally. Magaji confirmed that the state government already asked security agencies to start their investigations to find out what happened.