Bauchi State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ahmed Wakil, confirmed the incident and said Muhammad Abdullahi died at the General Hospital Alkaleri while 14 others were injured.
Wakil explained that the Commissioner of Police directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police to commence a discreet investigation, adding that IPOs were presently on the ground investigating the root cause of the matter.
He noted that the CP condemned the incident and assured the people of the district that justice would be served for each of them.
In a statement signed by the Director, Media and Publicity of the APC, Salisu A. Barau, it was alleged that PDP thugs opened fire on their governorship campaign entourage in Duguri. Barau explained that eyewitness accounts said they heard sounds of sporadic shootings around the premises where the campaign rally was being held, which made security operatives at the venue rush to the scene of the shootings where in an attempt to disarm the thugs and retrieve the guns from them, shot three people.
Among the casualties was one from Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, a member of the local vigilance group, and one from the hunters union. However, the NSCDC operatives recovered two dane guns from the thugs while others escaped with their own guns.
The same pattern of attacks, suspected to be sponsored, were carried out on Air Marshal Sadique’s convoy last month in Akuyam, the home village of the state chairman of PDP.
On their part, the Director-General of the Bala Mohammed PDP Gubernatorial Campaign Council, Farouk Mustapha, alleged that the attack was carried out by thugs and members of the APC in Bauchi State.
Mustapha claimed that trouble started when the gubernatorial candidate of the APC, Amb Sadique Baba Abubakar, went to Duguri Town in Alkaleri LGA for the last rush campaign accompanied by many notable politicians from across the country.
Mustapha also accused the APC of allegedly engaging the supporters of the Governor in a fracas, leading to the death of one person, scores of injured members of the community and the destruction of all PDP billboards and offices in the village.
“In all our campaigns, we have never killed even a chicken. Our Governor has always been a proponent of peace and politics without bitterness. That was why he was in the vanguard of signing the peace accord organized by the police command of which the APC gubernatorial candidate failed to show up,” Mustapha added.
The violence has led to concerns about the upcoming governorship election, with many calling for peaceful campaigns and elections. The State Commissioner of Police, CP Alhassan Aminu, has assured the state’s people that the police will do everything possible to ensure the safety and security of all citizens before, during and after the elections.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has also called on political parties and candidates to exercise restraint and adhere to the rule of law in their campaigns and other political activities. INEC has reiterated its commitment to conducting a free, fair and credible election in Bauchi State and urged all stakeholders to support its efforts towards achieving this goal.