A
two-minute 22 seconds video detailing the encounter between five of the
seven rebel governors in the breakaway faction of the Peoples
Democratic Party and the Divisional Police Officer of Asokoro Division,
Abuja surfaced on YouTube on Monday.
The DPO, Mr. Nnanna Ama, was said to
have led a detachment of policemen in three trucks to the Kano State
Governor’s Lodge where governors Rabiu Kwakwanso (Kano), Chibuike
Amaechi (Rivers), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Aliyu Babangida (Niger), and
Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) were having a meeting.
In the video, Lamido was seen shouting
at the top of his voice when Ama, who was putting on an orange T-shirt,
walked into the meeting venue in company with some plain clothes
policemen.
Ama, who had asked to see the host, the
Kano State governor, might have resorted to speak with Kwankwaso in
private on noticing the way and manner still and video cameras were
directed at him as he insisted that he wanted to see “his Excellency.”
But Lamido, who was sitting on a sofa,
hit the table intermittently and yelled at Ama, saying, “The governor
(Kwankwaso) is here. Talk to him. What do you want from him? We are
meeting alright. So, talk to him.”
At a point Lamido, who was obviously
infuriated, stood up and ordered some of their security aides, who were
in suit, to push the DPO out of the meeting venue.
One of the people sitting next to Babangida held Lamido in the hands and led him back to sit down.
“Push them (DPO and his men) out,” Lamido yelled.
One of their (rebel governor’s) security
aides, who wanted to take action after Lamido gave the order, looked
at the DPO eye-ball to-eyeball and asked, “What do you want?”
But the DPO replied that he had informed him before being taken before the governors.
“I have told you,” Ama replied, nodding his head.
In the course of the said invasion,
Ama, who was seen smiling at intervals, tried to move in the direction
of Lamido. But two of the security aides present held him from the back
and prevented him from going further.
However, a scuffle was prevented as
Ama, who appeared to have been treading cautiously, simply moved back
without challenging the duo. Lamido reiterated his order and shouted
again, “Get out. Who the hell is he?”
While the video lasted, some of the
aides who witnessed the scenario were heard from the background asking
if the DPO’s mission was to arrest the governors and other members of
the breakaway faction attending the meeting.
Amaechi, who was also present at the
meeting, was sighted in the video discussing and gesticulating with
other attendees. At another time, Amaechi was seen rubbing his palms.
Kwankwaso, who crossed his legs while
the altercations lasted, hinted that he was available to be briefed on
the DPO’s mission.
“You can talk to me,” Kwankwaso told the
DPO, who soon moved towards the governor to have a discussion with
him. The video later went dead.
Meanwhile, mixed reactions have greeted
the alleged disruption of the rebel governor’s meeting, with some people
arguing that police “invasion” of the venue was a breach of their
constitutional right to freedom of association and peaceful gathering.
But others argued that since a court of law had declared the New PDP illegal it ought to have put a stop to calling and holding meetings.
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