The All Progressives Congress, APC, primary election for the House of Representatives seat in Plateau State came to an abrupt end after a military personnel gun down a middle aged man identified as Sani Abdullahi at the venue.
Witnesses told Daily Trust that the resident of
Kasuwan Ali Community in Mangu Local Government Area, was shot dead by soldiers, following a disagreement over the commencement of the election exercise.
Ibrahim Sale, a resident who confirmed the incident, said the trouble started when some APC members protested the delay in the commencement of the primary earlier scheduled for Saturday.
According to Sale, “The exercise was supposed to hold on Saturday morning, but it didn’t take place because of the absence of returning officers. So the youths started protesting, alleging that the delay was deliberate.
“As this was going on, government officials who came to witness the exercise decided to leave because of the absence of the electoral officers. But some youths blocked the road to prevent the officials from leaving the venue.
“The youths insisted they would not leave until electoral officers arrived to conduct the primary. This drew the attention of security personnel, who moved in to disperse them.
“As soon as the security personnel arrived, the youths started throwing stones at them. The soldiers then started shooting, and a stray bullet hit the victim”, according to the report.
The incident however heightened tension in the area as residents condemned the murder, while calling for investigation into the alleged crime.
