Kogi gov arrests six over assault on N’assembly members
• Bans unauthorised visit to Lugard House • Echocho narrates ordeal
Sto the harassment of some National Assembly members that visited Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, at Lugard House, Lokoja, six persons have been arrested on the order of the governor. Chief Press Secretary ( CPS) to the Governor , Onogwu Muhammed, stated, yesterday, that his principal subsequently banned unauthorised persons from accessing the Government House, while calling for immediate prosecution of the culprits.
The federal la wmakers from Kogi had visited Bello to congratulate him on the peaceful conduct of the November 11 governorship election and to pledge their unalloyed loyalty to him and the incoming administration.
The statement reads: " After the fruitful discussion, the governor received with rude shock the news of the harassment of some of the lawmakers on their way out of Government House and swiftly ordered the arrest of the culprits.”
He charged security agencies to investigate the issue thoroughly and ensure the offenders face the full wrath of the law.
His directive to the heads of security agencies reads: “Information just got to me as I left the office to the residence that one man called Suleiman and others embarrassed Senator Jubrin Echocho ( APC, Kogi East) in Government House. I ha ve directed the Chief Security Officer ( CSO) to arrest all those involved in such stupid act and bring them to justice immediately. I will never condone acts of hooliganism and indiscipline.”
Echocho escaped being lynched by thugs at Government House, Lokoja, on Tuesday.
The senator, while narrating his ordeal in the hands of the thugs, said the police rescued him from what would ha ve been a tragedy.
In a chat with The Guardian, he said the incident happened immediately after a meeting with Governor Bello outside his office.
According to him, Senator Sunday Karimi ( Kogi W est), himself and other All Progressives Congress ( APC) federal lawmakers from the state had gone to pay homage to the governor after the festive season.
He said the thugs singled him out and pounced on him, accusing him of being responsible for APC' s poor performance in the last governorship election in Kogi East senatorial district. Though APC'S Usman Ododo was declared winner of the election with 446,237 votes, his main challenger, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party ( SDP), who came second, won majority of his 259,052 votes in Kogi East, from where both Ajaka and Echocho hail.
After the election, Bello had lashed out at his appointees whom he claimed betrayed him. He also took on Echocho in a viral video , saying after helping him to become a senator for the second time, he failed to deliver in the gover - norship election.