Just three weeks before the Kogi State Governorship Election, armed political thugs launched a violent attack on the home of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Zonal Chairman, Pastor Sunday Atabo. During the attack, the thugs looted his residence and vandalized his vehicle. The incident occurred in his country home in Aja-Odi Agojoeju, near the Ejule area of the state in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Pastor Atabo sustained serious injuries and was rendered unconscious as a result of the assault. This assault follows a previous attack by suspected members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who disrupted the SDP’s governorship campaign rally in Ejule, Ofu local government area of Kogi State just 48 hours earlier. During that attack, the hoodlums, believed to be associated with the ruling APC, also caused extensive damage to vehicles and valuable property.
Omera Opaluwa Ugbede, one of the SDP’s media spokespersons, confirmed the unprovoked attack and alleged that it was orchestrated by Alfa Nasir Muhammed, the Zonal Chairman of the APC, who hails from Ejule. The aftermath of the attack was documented in a video shared by a user on the X social media platform. The video showed a 2018 Toyota Camry with its windshields completely shattered and bullet holes on its body. Additionally, window glasses in Pastor Sunday Atabo’s bungalow house were shattered.
Efforts to reach the Kogi State Police Command for comment on the attack were unsuccessful at the time of this report. The SDP’s campaign council has called on President Bola Tinubu and security agencies to urgently intervene and address the escalating crisis in Kogi State before it further threatens democracy in the state.