Atiku group strategizes in Kaduna, as police warn against violence

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

A group under the auspices of Atikulated Kada Family, yesterday held a sensitization seminar, in Kaduna to strategise for the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar victory in 2019 Election.
This was even aa the Commisioner of Police, Kaduna State Command, Ahmad Abdulrahman has cautioned politicians and their supporters to play politics by the rule before, during and after the 2019 general elections to discourage violence.
The Police boss said the duty of security agencies is to enforce law whenever anybody goes against it, saying that no security agent will take side with any politician.
Abdulrahman was represented on the occasion by CSP John Shinkut of Area Command, Kakuri, Kaduna.
However, the State Coordinator of the Atiku group, Chief Christopher Geoman described the group as pressure group that is determined to enthrone good governance in the country.
“We are mini pressure group for good governance, so we are choosing the right leadership.
“We have seen that Atiku’s time has come, looking at the horoscope and we are convinced that Atiku will defeat Buhari in 2019”.
In his speech, the Police Commissioner said, “To have a free and fair election, the environment must be free of violence, electorates should go
out and vote peacefully and go back to their houses peacefully. Once there is no peaceful environment, there will be crisis.
“But things have not been done the way they are supposed to be done. Those in authority who are supposed to do the right thing, have not done it. It is the duty of the security agencies to ensure that electorates abide by the
rule of the game.
“Every political party has its own rule, so election has its own rule, but once the game is not played by the rule, there will be crisis.
“Look at what we are having presently, because of interest, we have not been able to sign the Electoral Bill into law. Everybody wants the
electoral law to carry his own interest, that is why we are having the problem.
“And the issue of Electoral Bill came when the election is just by the corner; how will this Bill work, and we expect to have free and fair election. So politicians and those involved should be able to play by the rule.
“Our own duty as security agencies is to enforce the law, we are not the one that made the law. It is our duty to ensure that the law is implemented
to the latter.
“Once we don’t enforce the law, we are creating problem. So we are partners in progress; politicians should play the game by the rule, we on our part, we implement the rule based on our duty.
“The next thing I will talk about here is arrest and prosecution of electoral offender during and after election, not minding who you are. It is the duty of the security agencies to ensure that anybody that goes against the rule, any electoral offender, is prosecuted, no matter who you are.
“We should not look at faces, we should not look at political party you belong. But unfortunately, I am sorry to say, in our society today, things
are not done the way they are supposed to be done.
“You discover that atimes a security agent will be handicapped, handicapped in the sense that you made an arrest, the next thing you hear is that there is an order from the above, release that person, because that person belongs to either party A or party B or party C. With this, how will you forstall election violence.
“We have forgotten that the other parties are watching. Once somebody is being arrested, the opposition may be watching”, he said: