Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The Advisory Council of the Abubakar Chika Malami (SAN) political movement on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has asked Malami’s supporters to remain calm and allow relevant authorities to investigate the attack on the former minister of justice’s convoy in Birnin Kebbi.
Chairman of the Council, Alhaji Shehu Aliyu Sambawa, who made the appeal in a statement made available to newsmen in Birnin Kebbi, condemned the unsuccessful assassination attempt of Malami and his supporters.
Sambawa also condemned the last press conference, led by Senator Muhammad Adamu Aliero, by the NASS caucus.
According to him “Political leaders are known to rise above partisan politics or considerations, especially on the important matter of security of lives and property.
“One would have expected the Senator to condemn the incident and, in no uncertain terms, call for calm and a thorough investigation, as well as prosecution, of all those involved in the conception, planning, and execution of the failed attempt to assassinate the former Minister and leader of the mass movement of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kebbi State, irrespective of political party affiliation.
“Unfortunately, Senator Aliero, like the other APC stalwarts who did before him, chose to cast aspersions and baseless allegations against the person of Abubakar Malami, SAN. In a criminal matter, he knew next to nothing about the matter but chose to speak in a speculative manner and make conjectures that are devoid of logic.”
Sambawa noted that Senator Aliero and other NASS members were not at the scene of the incident, and they could not get the clear pictures of what transpired.
“For the record, Abubakar Malami, SAN, visited his birthplace, Birnin-Kebbi, to condole His Royal Highness, the Emir of Gwandu, a close family friend, and the families of two other renowned Islamic scholars. Now, who will use a moment of grief for any mundane affair, talk less of a partisan election campaign?
”The visit was tight and restricted to the houses of the four bereaved families, which were all in Nassarawa Ward 1 in the Birnin-Kebbi metropolis.
“However, on seeing the SAN’s motorcade, the news of his arrival spread like wildfire in the State Capital, and people from all walks of life trooped to see and/or join his convoy at each of the venues of his scheduled visit, just to catch a glimpse of their political icon. No member of his entourage carried any campaign poster or symbol of the ADC or aired recorded music or played a musical instrument. The recorded procession evidenced by widely circulated social media clips attests to this undeniable fact.
“We have no doubt that it was the mammoth crowd that trailed the former Minister’s convoy that triggered the envy of the APC and its political thugs to violently attack the former Minister a few meters away from his private residence. We stand to be corrected by any eyewitness to the unprovoked deadly assault against the former Minister.
“We volunteered to offer this brief on the failed attempt to dismiss or whitewash the criminal conduct of the APC hoodlums because the APC, out of desperation, offered different versions of how the crime took place, all of which are contradictory in details, illogical, and repulsive to common sense. It’s hoped that the general public will be properly guided accordingly. The fact remains undeniable that the thugs emerged from the party headquarters and retreated back therein after the assassination attempt.
“It begs to be reiterated here that none of the APC spokespersons was a witness to the criminal assault but defended the indefensible, probably for a fee, of course.
“Finally, we wish to call on all the ADC and Abubakar Malami, SAN, supporters to remain calm, peaceful, and law-abiding while the matter is submitted to relevant authorities for necessary investigation and redress,” Sambawa said.