A young man identified as Sani Abdullahi was, on Sunday, shot dead while five others were injured as violence erupted at a venue of the All Progressives Congress, APC, House of Representatives primary election in Kasuwa Ali Community of Mangu Local Government Area, Plateau State.
Eyewitnesses said the victim, a resident of the Kasuwan Ali community, was shot dead by soldiers following a disagreement over the commencement of the exercise.
A resident of the community, Dantala Hassan, who witnessed and confirmed the incident, said trouble started when some APC members protested the delay in the commencement of the primary earlier scheduled for Saturday but was shifted to Sunday.
Hassan said the delay in the commencement of the primary election which was initially scheduled to kick off in the morning but did not hold due to the absence of returning officers, led to the party faithful getting agitated.
He added that the situation degenerated into a protest, with the youths pelting stones at the security operatives drafted to the venue and the personnel reportedly responded with gunfire, and a stray bullet was said to have struck Abdullahi, leading to his death.
“The exercise was supposed to take place on Saturday morning, but it didn’t take place because of the absence of returning officers. So the youths started protesting, alleging that the delay was deliberate,” Hassan said.
Continuing, the eyewitness said:
“As this was going on, government officials who came to witness the exercise decided to leave because of the absence of the electoral officers. But some youths blocked the road to prevent the officials from leaving the venue.
“The youths insisted they would not leave until electoral officers arrived to conduct the primary. This drew the attention of security personnel, who moved in to disperse them. As soon as the security personnel arrived, the youths started throwing stones at them.
“The soldiers then started shooting, and a stray bullet hit Sani who died on the spot. Five other youths were also injured and were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment,” Hassan said.
Efforts to reach the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Alfred Alabo and the Media Information Officer of the Operation Enduring Peace, Captain Polycarp Oteh for confirmation proved abortive as they did not responds to calls and messages.
