Scores of members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) were attacked by hoodlums during a transition meeting in Kaduna on Saturday.
It was learnt that the meeting, which took place at the Conference Hall of NUT Endwell in Mogadishu Layout, was held under the leadership of former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai.
Viral videos and images of the attacks showed several people injured and vehicles’ windscreen badly damaged.
Efforts to reach Mr El-Rufai for clarification over the incident were unsuccessful as his line was switched off.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Police Command said it did not receive any notification of the meeting convened by the former governor.
In a statement shortly after the incident, the command’s public relations officer, DSP Mansir Hassan, noted that the organisers went ahead with the meeting despite repeated warnings.
Mr Hassan, however, said the command had launched a full investigation into the attack.
“Preliminary findings indicate that the gathering led to a clash, during which thugs and political gangsters attached to the former governor allegedly fired gunshots, causing chaos and disruption of public order and peace in the state,” the statement said.
Mr Hassan said the police would not spare anyone found culpable in the incident, noting that nobody was above the law.
“The command wishes to state categorically that the investigation is ongoing, and anyone found culpable, irrespective of his personality and no matter how highly placed, if he acted contrary to the law, will face the full weight of the law,” the statement added.
