Some residents of Yelwa Bassa in Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa State have accused solders of using machete to inflict injuries on them for allegedly defacing campaign billboards of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The four victims: Idris Tanimu, Mohammed Umar, Idris Ibrahim and Anas Abubakar, who are between 20 and 30 years old, told PREMIUM TIMES that they are innocent of the allegations and were wrongly victimised.
Narrating how they were treated, Mr. Abubakar said they were summoned before the community head, Joshua Dauda, for allegedly defacing billboards; before they were whipped with cutlasses.
Mr. Tanimu, a father of seven, who had machete cuts on his back, said they were severely beaten with machetes by soldiers after they were incarcerated in a store.
“The soldiers argued on whether to use cable (wires) or machete to whip us,” he said. “One of them then brought machetes from the Hilux van they came with and asked us to pull off our clothes and lie down; before they began to hit us”.
Also narrating his experience, Mr. Umar said they were accused of defacing the billboards of three PDP candidates: Danladi Jatau, vying for House of Assembly; Gaza Jonathan, House of Representative candidate for Keffi-Kokona-Karu constituency; and Ahmed Wadada Nasarawa West senatorial candidate”
When contacted on the allegations and the treatment meted out to the victims, the Nasarawa State secretary of the PDP, Adamu Oyanki, said he was not aware of the incident.
The spokesperson of the police in the state, Umar Numan, also said he was yet to be briefed on the matter.
Efforts to get the military to react were also unsuccessful as Daniel John, an Army Captain who speaks for the army in Nasarawa, could not be reached on phone.
