By Amuda Dan Sulaiman Fab
The leadership of Kogi Youths Vanguard (KYG), has condemned the attack on the convoy of the Kogi State governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party SDP, Alhaji Murtala Yakubu Ajaka, at Ukumi village an outskirt of Lokoja town while he was coming from Koton-Karfe where some of his cars were burnt down by suspected thugs on Saturday.
The KYV said this in a statement issued in Lokoja on Sunday, signed by Alhaji Abdulsalam Abubakar, National Publicity Secretary of the youth body, captioned “No To Violence In Kogi State.”
The group said that they received the news of the attack on the SDP governorship candidate’s convoy with shock and disbelief, warning youths from the state to resist from being used as political thugs.
The statement partly read, “the leadership of Kogi Youths Vanguard received the news of the attack on Alhaji Murtala Yakubu Ajaka’s Convoy by some people suspected to be All Progressives Congress (APC) thugs in shock and disbelief.
“It’s quite unfortunate and regrettable that some people still play mundane politics of thuggery in 2023 and more worrisome that Kogi Youths even after so many warnings and sensitisation still allowed themselves to be used to attack political opponents for their Political pay masters who don’t see them as nothing useful but war animals.
“This is not what Kogi is known for and we must do everything to stop selfish and desperate politicians from turning Kogi State to war zone.
“We condemn the ugly incidence in it’s entirety, urge law enforcement agencies to bring the perpetrators to justice speedily and call for calm in Kogi State,” they said.
The statement further explained that; “Ideas rule the world now, not fists, not arms and not violence of any kind and with the new electoral laws in Nigeria those that their political usefulness was built on nuisance and violence has been rendered obsolete and completely useless.
“Any politician that still uses thugs and violence should be resisted by all well meaning Kogites and all stakeholders must come together to combat this holistically before it degenerates to something worse.
“KYV once again uses this opportunity to plead with our Youths to resist the incentive to be used for violence and thuggery,” they said.
