Five people were on Saturday night rushed to the hospital following an attack on the resident of Alhaji Salisu Abdulaziz (Mr B) a stalwart of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State.

Mr B, who was a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) before defecting to PDP, was said to have arranged a meeting between women and youths at his residence in the Gombe metropolis. While the meeting which was to be attended by former governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo was about to start the attackers who were suspected to be Kalare political thugs stormed the house bearing various weapons.

According to Mr B in an interview with reporters, the thugs went on a rampage vandalizing and attacking the women and youths as well as men attending the meeting. H said, “they vandalized my house, break my gate and all electrical bulbs as well as my widows. We were lucky that the police were quick to calm the situation.

“We had informed the commissioner of police in Gombe of the meeting and he send some of his men to give us security cover, despite that the thugs came in numbers and started vandalizing the building with over 200 women inside. They came with various weapons including cutlasses, sticks, and other dangerous weapons”.

According to Mr B, he suspects that the attack was occasioned by his decision to leave APC which he alleged has failed in rescuing the state from various challenges including poverty and other hardships. He said, “I believe the attack was because I left the APC for the PDP.

“I defected to PDP because I realized that APC didn’t mean well for Gombe. With all the suffering that APC has caused in Nigeria the situation is getting worst in Gombe, that is because the state government has failed to come up with genuine policies and programs to alleviate the situation. We are interested and ready to deliver PDP at all levels in Gombe”.

When contacted, the Gombe State Police Command Public Relations Officer, ASP Mahid Mu’azu Abubakar, confirmed the incident. Stating that the suspected political thugs stormed the meeting at the residence of a member of the PDP, where hundreds of women were in attendance.

According to him, the thugs dispersed the meeting by breaking the gate of the house to force themselves inside.

ASP Abubakar confirmed that about five people were injured and were evacuated by the police to the hospital for treatment. He added that the police are yet to make an arrest, saying the case is still under investigation to unravel the people behind the attack. (Daily Sun: Text, excluding headline)