A chaotic situation ensued on Tuesday at the stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of Saturday’s Kogi State governorship election after operatives of the Nigeria Police Force fired teargas to disperse suspected political hoodlums.
The police operatives, it was learnt, used the teargas after they failed to successfully disperse Natasha Akpoti, the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and her crowd of supporters from gaining access to Idrinana Hotel, the meeting’s venue in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.
Upon being refused entry into the venue, Akpoti insisted that she was duly invited for the meeting and requested the security operatives to let her into the venue.
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But following the refusal of the SDP governorship candidate to yield to the demand of the police, the security operatives released the teargas as the crowd behind her began to agitate.
The ensuing melee forced individuals present at the meeting, including Mohammed Adamu, the Inspector General of Police; and Professor Mahmood Yakubu, INEC Chairman, to scamper for safety.
Mouktar Atimah, Chairman of SDP, stated that he was manhandled while trying to meditate.
Speaking shortly after the incident, Atimah said that what happened showed the extent to which our society had got rotten.
Akpoti was recently included on the list of candidates for the governorship election after she and her party successfully appealed their exclusion from the election by INEC.
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