11 months ago
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The senator representing Kogi East in the National Assembly, Isah Jibrin Echocho, has claimed that some thugs attacked him inside the Kogi State government house with knives and other dangerous weapons after a meeting with Governor Yahaya Bello.
The Senator narrated that the incident happened when he and other All Progressives Congress (APC) federal lawmakers from the state, including Senator Sunday Karimi (Kogi West), visited Governor Bello in the spirit of the festive season.
According to him, after the courtesy call on the Kogi State Governor, he and others with him were heading to their cars when suddenly some thugs pounced on him with weapons, accusing him of being responsible for the poor performance of the APC in Kogi East during the last governorship election in the state which Naija News recalls, was eventually won by the APC’s Usman Ododo.
The lawmaker explained that despite the party’s victory, he was accused of not doing enough for the party during the polls.
Echocho added that the Police were, however, able to protect him from the attackers and ferry him into the car, where he escaped unhurt. He added that he has since returned to Abuja safely.
“I was attacked by thugs in Government House Lokoja but the police rescued me.
“What happened was that all APC senators and the House of Representatives members from the state visited the governor on a courtesy call for the New Year.
“Being one of them, I was not left out. We went up and we had some brief meeting with the governor, though he expressed dissatisfaction over APC performance in Kogi East (my senatorial district) in the last governorship election.
“I told the governor that I tried all I could to convince my people to vote for the APC. I campaigned vigorously for APC in Kogi East but the people were resolute in voting for another candidate despite my efforts.
“It is not as if APC performed woefully in the election in Kogi East. There were pockets of LGs and wards that we won. There was no other thing I could have done beyond what I did. We exchanged pleasantries with the governor, took a group photograph and left.
“As we were coming out, in front of the governor’s office, the thugs pounced on me, that I was responsible for APC’s failure in Kogi East.
“To my surprise, they brought out knives and other dangerous weapons to attack me but police officers around were able to rescue me inside my vehicle and we zoomed off. I thank God I didn’t suffer any injury. The police were able to provide sufficient security,” Senator Echocho told Daily Trust in a phone conversation.
How Governor Bello Reacted
The Senator, however, played down any form of involvement by Governor Bello in the attack, saying the Governor called him after the attack and vowed to bring the attackers to justice, but he told him not to worry since he escaped unhurt.
“The governor cannot descend so low and send thugs to attack me.
“The governor spoke with me after the attack, and he assured me that the thugs would be arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law, but I told him not to worry since I’m safe,” Echocho said.
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Attempts by the publication to get a reaction from the Kogi State Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, were not successful as he did not respond to a message sent to him and did not answer several calls to him.
