Sani Shinkafi
Sani Shinkafi, an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and former Zamfara governorship candidate, has alleged an attempt on his life.
Shinkafi contested the governorship of Zamfara on the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019. He joined the APC in June 2021.
In a statement, Shinkafi, executive director of Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development, said some masked men in black, armed with rifles, blocked and attacked his car after Jumat prayer in Abuja on Friday, before speeding off in a black Prado jeep with no number plate.
“My life was threatened today when some persons dressed in black, wearing masks and carrying big guns blocked and attacked my car after Friday Mosque prayers in Abuja and zoomed off,” the statement reads.
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“The attack is a violation of my fundamental rights as enshrined in chapter IV of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, including right to life, right to dignity of human person, right to personal liberty, right to private and family life, right to freedom of expression, which I usually exercise in various media programmes, interviews and press conferences without malice in the quest for a strong, united, stable, secured, peaceful and prosperous democratic society.
“The attack may not be unconnected with my views on national security, particularly in Zamfara state, where I urged families of kidnapped victims not to pay ransom as bandits used the funds to acquire more sophisticated weapons for their attacks on innocent citizens.
“I also urged the military to intensify their operations to flush out these criminal elements in the North West in particular and the entire nation which will make the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu easier as the geopolitical zone that gave him the highest votes in 2023 presidential election in which he appointed me to serve as a Patron, Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council.
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“I equally served as deputy chairman, Matawalle Governorship Campaign Council (Zamfara State) in the 2023 Governorship Election and delivered my Polling Unit, Ward and Local Government to APC candidates, and we delivered our local government during the Presidential election in 2023.
“As a patriotic citizen and democrat, I have been promoting peace, social development and national security, which are essential to sustainable democracy and prosperity.
“It is obvious that my views may not be in consonance with those who prioritise personal interests above national interests.
“Just as my call on families of kidnapped victims not to pay ransom to bandits, which will only succeed in empowering them, enraged the wanted bandit kingpin Turji Bello, who, in a recent video, threatened my life.
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“We should set aside parochial partisan politics in the national interest. Nigeria is our only country; we must join hands to make it great again in the spirit of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.”
Shinkafi asked the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Department of State Services (DSS) to “thoroughly investigate this unprovoked attempt on my life to unravel those behind it and their sponsors to face justice”.
