How police stopped Buhari, Atiku's election summit in Kaduna

From ISMAILOMIPIDAN Kaduna, Contrary to the claim by the Police Command in Kaduna that its recent ban on political gatherings had no ulterior motive, Sunday Sun can authoritatively reveal that

the ban was announced to stop former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd) and other leading northern leaders, from discussing 2015, in Kaduna.

For two Saturdays consecutively, two groups, that ostensibly had the backing of the government, held political rallies in Kaduna, where they tried to canvass support for President Goodluck Jonathan's 2015 ambition. But barely three days after the last event, and exactly four days to a "Town Hall" meeting on 2015 election, where most people considered in government circle, as "enemies" of Jonathan's 2015 ambition, would have been assembled, to discuss the way forward for 2015, the Kaduna State Police Command, issued a warning banning all forms of political gatherings and rallies. According to the Police, the decision was reached after the State's Security Council meeting.

Curiously, it was the first time, the decision of such meeting, was being communicated to members of the public, through the police, in recent time. Investigations by Saturday Sun however revealed that the ban was targetted at the Arewa Media Forum, AMF, led by ace columnist and former Managing Director, MD, of New Nigerian Newspapers, NNN, Mohammed Haruna who had put together a mini Summit, with the theme "Towards Peaceful, Credible, Free and Fair 2015 Elections." Saturday Sun further gathered that while the event was slated for last Saturday, October 12, 2013, the ban was announced on Tuesday, October 8, 2013. Interestingly, before the ban, the Kaduna governor and both Buhari and Atiku had formally given their consent to attend the event.

The Summit, it was further gathered, would have had a panel of lead speakers including former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomasie, and the Secretary of the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, Professor Ango Abdullahi. Others expected to attend the function are: the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Attahiru Jega, with the Kaduna governor as special guest of honour, while Alhaji Aliko Muhammadu, ACF chairman, was to chair the occasion.

Although, the organisers have since issued a statement postponing the event, a senior member of the group told Sunday Sun in confidence that they have every reason to believe that the ban was targetted at them.

"When we heard of the ban on political gatherings and rallies, we reached out to a senior government official, who gave us the phone number of the Commissioner of Police. We called him on many occasions, but he did not pick, probably because he did not have the number we were using to call him, on his contact list. "But a retired AIG called him on our behalf, and he told him, we can't hold the event.

So we called it off. However, on the same day we were to hold our own function, two other events went on within the same premises ( Arewa House). And the police went there and asked if any of the events was Arewa Media Forum's own.

The people said no. And that was how the police left the place," the source, added. In a swift reaction however, Kaduna State Police Commissioner, CP, Olufemi Adenaike, denied that the ban was targetted at the AMF. In a telephone interview with Saturday Sun, the CP claimed that "the ban of rally and other similar events in Kaduna is not targetted at any person or group. It is also not targetted at any political group or party. It is a measure taken to prevent breach of law and order and anything capable of tampering with the relative peace being experienced in the state. "Therefore, if any group thinks the ban was targetted at it, that is its own view."