The Kaduna State command of the Department of State Services (DSS) has explained that it arrested the Director-General of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) campaign, Ben Bako, because of inciting statement that if left unchecked, was capable of leading to a “complete breakdown of law and order in the state and beyond.”
The PDP campaign DG was arrested after a video in which he allegedly called for anybody that failed to vote for the PDP in the forthcoming election to be killed.
The PDP in the state, however, said his arrest was part of a plan by the All Progressives Congress to clamp down on the opposition.
But in a statement issued in Kaduna, the DSS said the PDP chieftain was arrested in order for him to “shed more light on his inciting statement.”
The statement signed by AI Koya, state Director of Security of the state command, said “other people with similar tendencies are also being investigated and would equally face the same fate if found culpable.
The statement reads: “On February 9, 2019, this service invited Mr Ben Bako, to shed more light on his inciting statement and call for violence in the state. Earlier on the 7th February 2019 Bako had addressed a rally in Kafanchan, Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
“During the rally, Bako was recorded calling his followers to kill anybody that voted for any party other than the PDP. The video has already gone viral through social media.
“Bako, a former Commissioner for Information in this state and a leader in his own right made this call along with other inciting statements in Kafanchan, deliberately with the intention to cause violence in the state.
“This development, if left unchecked, could lead to a complete breakdown of law and order in this state and beyond. Consequently, Bako is under investigation by the service and would be charged to court as soon as the investigation is completed. Other people with similar tendencies are also being investigated and would equally face the same fate if found culpable.
“The service assures the good people of Kaduna State that in collaboration with sister security agencies would ensure that citizens are free to exercise their right to freedom of association and choice without hindrance,” the statement reads.
