Protesters storm Niger Govt. House, smash 10 vehicles

From Yakubu Mustapha Minna

No fewer than 10 vehicles were smashed by some protesters from Katcha Local Government Area of Niger State yesterday who stormed Governor Abubakar Sani Bello’s office hauling stones, cutlasses at the Government House Minna premises.
Our correspondent reliably gathered that two factions of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from the local government clashed at the Government House gate before a free for all fight ensued among them.
According to findings, the protests were said to have been triggered by the recent appointment of a former commissioner as an SSA to the governor on local government affairs.
Our correspondent also gathered that one of the factions against the reappointment of the former commissioner had staged a protest march to Government House before they were countered by those loyal to the former commissioner.
An eye witness account told our reporter that over 10 vehicles were smashed during the incident which also caused traffic gridlock along the road leading to the Government House,
Consequently, some of the smashed vehicles were seen at the GRA police station when our reporter visited the station, while the road leading to the Government House was littered with stones apparently used in the clash.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Niger state Police Command, ASP Mohammed Inna Abubakar confirmed the incident to our reporter.
According to him, “some miscreants wanted to cause trouble in front of Government House but were dispersed by the police attached to the Government House”.
Although it was gathered that some arrest were made by the police, the PPRO declined comment on the number of arrest insisting that investigation into the matter has commenced.