The ruling All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) in Borno state has described the burning of the state chairman, Mala Othman’s house by youths under the cover of vigilantes as politically-motivated.
The youths stormed Mr. Othman’s house at new GRA, obviously to arrest him but later razed down the house after their target was assisted to escape.
In a statement issued on Friday after its meeting, the party said the vigilante group that carried out the operation accused the party chairman wrongly of being an accomplice of the dreaded Islamist sect, Bokos Haram.
Borno state, presently under emergency rule has witnessed significant number of attacks that have led to loss of hundreds of lives and property worth millions of naira.
The vigilantes, also known as Civilian JTF have been collaborating with special forces troops to rid the state of insurgency.
ANPP scribe, Shettima said, “Our party chairman, Othman, is an accomplished politician who has the interest of the people and the development of the state at heart. Accusing him of such behavior is witch hunting of which the people of Borno state are never known for.
“In order to put the records straight, we want to establish the fact that it is on record that 99 percent of politicians killed since the Boko Haram insurgency began in the state are members of the ANPP, the ruling party in Borno State.
“The party has put Borno State on the path of unprecedented development under the able leadership of our State Chairman, Alhaji Mala Othman, who is a leader with unquestionable character. With this background, it is unimaginable to say that he is sponsoring the killing of his own people.
“We are appealing to the Youth Volunteers to be careful not to take the law into their hands and should be aware of politicians who might use them against their opponents in order to score cheap political goal,” he said.
