SULE ORDERS INVESTIGATION INTO DISRUPTION OF APC RALLY IN LAFIA

Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has ordered security agencies to investigate the disruption of an APC presidential campaign rally in Lafia, including the reported obstruction of Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s convoy.

Speaking at an expanded security meeting on Thursday, Sule said investigators must identify everyone responsible, including any organisers or sponsors behind the disturbance.

Shettima attended Wednesday’s rally on behalf of President Bola Tinubu.

Sule described the incident as serious and warned against limiting the investigation to the arrest of a few young people.

“The people responsible for this must be called to order,” he said.

The governor also requested an investigation into reports that an object, suspected to be a shoe, was thrown towards the podium where dignitaries were standing.

He questioned the use of tear gas near the podium and asked investigators to examine the conduct of security personnel.

Secretary to the State Government Labaran Shuaibu Magaji said security chiefs had assured officials before the event that adequate arrangements were in place.

He alleged that opposition supporters wearing APC T-shirts entered the venue and helped cause the disruption. That claim had not been independently established in the supplied report.

Magaji also criticised the police response, alleging that tear gas affected officials on the podium rather than resolving the disturbance.

The government commended the military, the Department of State Services and the civil defence corps for helping restore order.

No findings establishing responsibility were announced in the report, which did not include responses from the police or opposition representatives.