The Kogi State Government has sounded the alarm, alleging three separate “assassination” attempts on the life of the State’s Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello. In a press statement entitled ‘Assassination Attempt On The Governor,’ released and signed by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Femi Fanwo, the government claims that these attempts were part of a larger plan to depict the state as unsafe in the lead-up to the November 11 governorship election.
According to the statement, the attackers, disguised in military uniforms, ambushed the governor’s convoy and opened fire indiscriminately on his vehicle and other vehicles within the convoy. These incidents occurred at three different points along the Lokoja-Abuja highway, with the last attack taking place around Kwali Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at approximately 4:20 pm on a Sunday evening.
Fanwo emphasized that it was only through the swift response of security personnel accompanying the governor that the sinister designs of these unknown assailants were thwarted.
The press statement issued by the Kogi State Government reads in part: “The Kogi State Government wishes to inform the general public that there was an assassination attempt on the Governor of the state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, CON, a few kilometers away from Abuja, on his way to an official engagement from Lokoja. The attack occurred at about 4 pm on Sunday, October 22, 2023. The attackers who were dressed in military uniforms waylaid the Governor’s convoy and started shooting sporadically at his vehicle and other vehicles in the convoy. It took the swift intervention of the security personnel attached to the Governor to foil the satanic plans of the unknown soldiers. The attacks were at three different points, the last barricade being around Kwali Federal Capital Territory at about 4.20 pm.”
The Kogi State Government expressed concern that certain elements may be attempting to portray Kogi as an unsafe place leading up to the Governorship Poll scheduled for November 11, 2023. They assured citizens that the government would spare no effort in safeguarding the security of the people, promising prompt and thorough investigations into the reported incidents.
