Kafanchan In Cha0s As APC Thugs, Police, Soldiers Allegedly D!srupt PDP Rally, Teargas Kaduna Supporters
Kafanchan In Chaos As APC Thugs, Police, Soldiers Allegedly Disrupt PDP Rally, Teargas Kaduna Supporters
However, SaharaReporters gathered that on Monday evening, the campaign trail of a PDP House of Representatives candidate came to Kafanchan to campaign when the APC allegedly attacked them and invited police and soldiers, who arrived and started throwing teargas canisters at the PDP supporters.
There is commotion in Kafanchan, Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State, as thugs suspected to be loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC), with the alleged backing of police and soldiers, disrupted the political campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the area.
SaharaReporters had reported earlier that a chieftain of the APC, Isyaka Abdullahi Ladan, had on Sunday directed APC youths to ensure that no other party comes to the area to campaign, insisting that it was only the APC and no other party that is allowed.
However, SaharaReporters gathered that on Monday evening, the campaign trail of a PDP House of Representatives candidate came to Kafanchan to campaign when the APC allegedly attacked them and invited police and soldiers, who arrived and started throwing teargas canisters at the PDP supporters.
“On Sunday, the APC candidate campaigned and even turned the Emir’s palace into campaign headquarters. It was at their campaign yesterday that one Isyaka Abdullahi Ladan directed APC youths to attack any other party that comes to campaign in their area.
“So this morning, ADC campaign team with their candidates held their campaign but this evening, PDP campaign team and their supporters arrived. Shortly after they started talking to people, APC thugs swooped on the PDP campaign team. Before you understand what was going on, police and soldiers had taken over the area, shooting teargas on the people. As we speak there is great tension in Kafanchan now. Security agencies are not neutral, they are siding APC and preventing other parties from campaigning,” Aliyu Haruna told SaharaReporters.
Some video clips shared with SaharaReporters and video calls with those at the scene show people suspected to be PDP supporters scampering for safety as thick white smoke from canisters plumed the surroundings.
The ADC candidate, Hon Adam Isah Tanko, had earlier in the morning campaigned in the area before the PDP candidate came in the evening.
The development comes amid growing concerns over pre-election violence and intimidation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) had on Monday called on President Bola Tinubu, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies to respond promptly and impartially to emerging signs of political intimidation and violence ahead of the polls.
RULAAC had warned that election security begins before election day, noting that a credible election cannot be secured merely by deploying thousands of armed personnel to polling units after months of threats, intimidation, political violence and impunity have already restricted political participation.
The group also called on the President to give an unequivocal directive for institutional neutrality, and urged the police and other security agencies to investigate credible threats before they become violence.
It further demanded that political neutrality must become the operational standard for election policing, stressing that security agencies must never become instruments for restricting lawful political competition.
When SaharaReporters reached out to the Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Mansir Hassan, for reaction, no response was received as of the time of filing the report.
