On Tuesday, hoodlums suspected of being political thugs vandalized former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s campaign headquarters in the Investment Quarters, eight kilometres from the Gombe metropolis.
The hoodlums also destroyed the Gombe State Secretariat of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which was located along Bauchi road in Gombe.
According to reports, the fire service employees, with the support of men from the Nigeria Police Force and several civilians, were able to extinguish the blaze, which destroyed valuables, including crucial papers.
While speaking to media following the event, the state’s PDP Chairman, General Audu Kwaskebe (Rtd), accused members of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, of being culpable.
According to him, the youth leader of the APC, Kawu Lero, spearheaded the burning of the secretariat and the vandalization of Atiku’s campaign office.
But the state Public Relations Officer of the APC, Mr Moses Kyari, told Daily Trust that it was PDP members that set their office on fire, “due to internal crisis over control of the party structure.”
Efforts by newsmen to reach the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, in the state, SP Obed Mary Malum, proved abortive as of press time.