Three persons have been killed and some buildings set on fire in Bakura town in Zamfara State.
Several vehicles were also vandalised in the violence that rocked the area on Friday, a day to the House of Assembly bye-election for the vacant seat of Bakura constituency.
Addressing journalists in Bakura in the Bakura Local Government Area of the state, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of zone 10, Mohammed Mustapha, said the deceased persons were killed as a result of squabbles between supporters of the two major political parties in the state.
Although Mustapha did not name the parties the supporters belonged to, it was gathered that they were members of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
The police boss declared that more crises could erupt if things were not done to prevent such, adding that “many people might lose their lives if the political rallies are allowed to go on”.
Our reporter, who covered the APC campaign rally at Bakura, observed that supporters of the two parties were armed for any attack.
Addressing the APC supporters last Thursday, the former governor, Alhaji Abdul’aziz Yari, urged them to be law-abiding.
Yari called on the APC supporters to come out en masse to vote for the party’s candidate, Alhaji Bello Gamji, in the bye-election.
He also called on them to defend their votes despite the pressure, while expressing hope that the APC candidate would emerge victorious.
The state governor, Alhaji Bello Matawalle, who addressed journalists on Thursday night, blamed the APC supporters for what happened.
He warned Yari to stop causing trouble in the state or have himself to blame.
He also advised some APC governors invited by Yari for the election not to come to the state so that the crisis would not escalate. (Punch)
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