Police confirm that four people were killed on Monday, December, 1st, at the venue of the All Progressives Congress (APC) State Assembly primary elections in Garaku community of Kokona local government area of Nasarawa State.
Ugochukwu Theodore, the state Police spokesperson,told Premium Times that people in military uniform shot dead four persons during the primaries.
“While the APC house of assembly primary elections was going on, there was a huge misunderstanding between supporters of two aspirants and some men in military uniform came to the scene and started shooting sporadically,” he said.
Theodore told journalists that police were later disposed to the scene of the accident and the situation was taken under control.
He said, “They were some casualties in the process but the situation was quickly brought under control by team of police men deployed to the scene.”
According to him, the APC continued with the primary election and that two winners appeared for Kokona East and West constituency.
Theodore said, “There after the primaries still continued and a winner emerged for Kokona east constituency which happens to be Daniel ogazi and Hon. Abubakar Ogbere emerged winner for at Kokona West.”
Local resident who witness the incident say the victims were shot when some youth were protesting the supposed hijacking of candidates since last week Saturday.
Another witnesses, Ibrahim Kana, said the gunfire came from the crowd.
“We were all waiting for the commencement of the exercise when the delegates who were missing since Saturday came in a bus and the youth began to protest thinking they were brought by one of the aspirants, before you know, we began to hear gunshots which hit about four people.”
The incident also happened during Lagos the House of Assembly primary held by the Lagos State chapter of the APC, where also 4 people were killed.
The opposition APC has today, December 3rd, cleared former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to run in the 2015 elections.