Suspected Anti – thuggery officials attack PDP guber candidate in Zamfara

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate in Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, has accused men of the state’s Anti-Thuggery Committee of attacking his motorcade Thursday evening in Gusau.

Mr Lawal, in a statement by his media office, said this was the second time officials of the group would be attacking his convoy.

The Anti-thuggery Committee was created by the state governor, Bello Matawalle, to checkmate the excesses of thugs in the state but opposition parties especially the PDP and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) have accused the committee of witch-hunting their members.

In the statement, the PDP candidate said the attack was unprovoked. He claimed officials of the state outfit ambushed and opened fire on vehicles in his convoy. He said a police officer attached to Mr Lawal was wounded.

Mr Lawal claimed the state government was planning to cause chaos before the elections.

“The convoy of the Zamfara State PDP Governorship candidate, Dauda Lawal on Thursday, March 16, 2023, came under heavy attack from armed men of the anti-thuggery committee on the Sani Abacha Way of the GRA in Gusau Local Government Area of the state.

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“Dauda Lawal had gone to some areas for a last-minute campaign and on his way back home, the uniformed anti-thuggery launched a heavy attack on him, spraying his car and backup vehicles with bullets.

“This is the second time within a month that the anti-thuggery assassins have made attempts on the life of the PDP Candidate.

“The anti-thuggery is operating illegally in Zamfara State, because there is an existing court order restraining the committee from harassing, intimidating, brutalizing, terrorizing, arresting, detaining, and any form of torture of members of the opposition parties,” the statement added.

The statement called on security agencies to ensure lives and properties of people of the state are protected before, during and after the elections.

Both the anti – thuggery Committee chairman, Bello Bakyasuwa and the police spokesperson Mohammed Shehu did not respond to calls and SMS sent to them on the allegation made by the PDP guber candidate.