Breaking News: PDP Campaign Spokesman Abducted By Armed Thugs In Kogi State

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called for the release of its presidential campaign spokesperson in Kogi State, Mr. Austin Okai, who was abducted on Friday night by armed thugs allegedly unleashed by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The abduction was made known in a statement released by the PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbodiyan, who also asked the Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed, to immediately disband the checking point in Banda, Lokoja-Abuja highway, where the members of the opposition are being harassed and intimidated.

PDP cautions that the continued stay in captivity of Kogi State party leaders can spark off crisis in the state, adding that its members, as well as the people of Kogi state, cannot stomach the abduction of Mr. Austin Okai as well as the arrest of its members for flimsy reasons by the APC.

We urge the Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed, to immediately step into the matter to forestall a break down of law and order. This is because, if Mr. Austin Okai and others are not immediately released by the APC, it would send a very wrong signal to the already agitated youth and lead to a resort to self-help.

The PDP also alerts of the arrest of its ward chairmen in Rivers state by soldiers, particularly in Abua-Odual Local Government Area, ostensibly in compliance with the orders of the Buhari Presidency.

The mass arrest in Rivers is coming on the heels of the clampdown of PDP members in Kano state with the arrest of our party leaders and campaign officials including our Senatorial candidate Ahmed Haruna Bichi and a serving member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ahmed Garba Bichi.

The PDP notes that these are two very volatile states and any act that suggests a clampdown by the authorities might lead to vehement resistance by the people and trigger crisis in the state.

We call on Nigerians to note how the Buhari Presidency and the APC are pushing Nigerians to the wall and invite the international community to hold President Buhari directly responsible for these infractions against innocent Nigerians.