From Ahmad SAKA, Bauchi
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Supporters Group in Bauchi state has urged the Police and the State Government to embark on thorough investigation to unravel the sponsors of thugs who allegedly hijacked Tuesday’s violent protest staged by students of the Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic.
ATAP students had taken to the streets to protest the industrial action embarked on by the Joint Action Committee of the state-owned higher institutions over the request from the government. Some students took over the Bauchi-Jos Expressway, where motorists were blocked from using the road.
In a statement on Thursday, by the leader of the 41 APC Supporters Group, Hon. Sallau Kafi, he condemned the action, saying that “the violence that resulted in a protest by students of Abubakar Tatari Polytechnic (ATAP) Bauchi which occurred Tuesday morning.
“The members of our group had a meeting unanimously to agree to issue this press statement to call on security agencies to investigate the matter and dig into the root of the matter.”
Kafi said that some group of hoodlums and political thugs took the advantage and barricaded the Bauchi-Plateau Federal highway to demonstrate against the strike, while attacking the passersby and security personnel.
According to Kafi, the miscreants and hoodlums protesters resorted to burning of tyres, smashing of peoples’ vehicles, damaging properties, extortion of mobile phones and looting some shops situated opposite the school before the arrival of police anti-riot squad to the scene who tried to appeal to the students’ leaders, but yielded no positive result.
The APC chieftain said that the protesting thugs stoned dangerously at the Police team which made the police officers sustain serious injuries.
“We urged the security agencies to investigate into the circumstances surrounding the protest and we urged law-abiding citizens in the state to stay away from all forms of criminality and stop politicising the matter, especially our party members the APC who are taking the advantages of the protest and attacking the government in the media.
“As a true APC and founding members of the Party that has Bauchi State at heart, we disassociate ourselves with those bad politicians and we will do anything possible within our capacity as a lover of the state to assist the government and security agencies to fish out the perpetrators,” he said.
