Politicians using thugs, criminals for elections responsible for crimes, violence in Nigeria Gov – Yahaya Bello

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State on Wednesday said that politicians using thugs and hooligans for elections are responsible for violence and crime upsurge in the country. Governor Bello on Channels morning programme, Sunrise Daily, was, therefore, of the view that Nigeria will be safer and more secured when politicians stop the use of thugs and criminals during elections.

According to Governor BELLO, “When politicians begin to stop the use of thugs, touts, or some group of criminals that is when we will begin to have safety and security.”

The Kogi governor claimed that he won the November 16, 2019 governorship election in Kogi State without the use of ‘boys’ or thugs.

The governor stated that political thuggery and use of ‘boys’ during elections was the order of the day in Kogi before he came into power but he decided to change the game as he “refused to play that kind of dangerous politics.”

Governor Bello had declared: “When I came on board, I inherited a state that was largely divided along several lines. For you to aspire to be anything politically in Kogi State then, you must have what we call ‘boys’ or thugs or touts and then use it to intimidate people during political dispensations.

“Once the political exercise is over, the so-called boys or thugs or foot soldiers would be abandoned and left to themselves and by that, they breed into something else or a hydra-headed monster that you will not be able to curb at the end of the day. There are several histories, records, and intelligence to that effect across the country.

“But I refused to play that kind of dangerous or unnecessary politics when I came on board. “My ascension to the office is known to everybody across the world. I chose my path immediately and decided to deal with criminals irrespective of political affiliations by simply utilising the laws passed by the Kogi State House of Assembly and the existing security architecture.”

Bello said the Kogi State government “runs an open-door policy,” embraced by the residents of the state.

Governor Bello re-elected for a second tenure on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019, emphasized that there is sufficient evidence that he won the election free and fair.

The Kogi governor stated: “I won my election free and square. The police, the DSS, the military, and all law enforcement agencies have their facts. Don’t listen to the lies they peddle out there. When I see those things, I simply laugh and say how I wished they would come to Kogi State to see for themselves.

“There was no time in my campaign that any of my supporters or followers goes into the destruction of billboards, signposts, or installations of the state government, before, during, and after the election. I can say this boldly.”

Governor Bello said that investigation is still going on into the murder of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Woman Leader of Wada/Aro Campaign Council, Ochadamu Ward, Mrs. Acheju Abuh, by political thugs during the Kogi State governorship election.  he assured he will follow-up the case till the end, and that findings will be made public.

Mrs. Acheju Abuh was burnt alive at her residence by political thugs.