Police arrest 3 Kwankwaso supporters over clash with Wali’s loyalists

Former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso

The Kano State Police Command says it has arrested three suspects over their involvement in the clash between supporters of ex-Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart in the state, Ambassador Aminu Wali.

The Kano State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abdullahi Kiyawa, confirmed the arrest on Friday.

Kiyawa gave the names of the suspects as Malam Dahiru Haruna, Idi Zare Rogo, and Idris Yau Mariri.

The police spokesperson said the three suspects were arrested after they broke into the hotel room of the complainants and attacked them.

He added that the three arrested suspects confirmed to the police that they are loyalists of Kwankwaso, who had since dumped PDP for the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

The fight between the Kwankwaso loyalists and Ambassador Aminu Wali faction broke out on Thursday evening when representatives of the executives of Kano State PDP and the party’s National Headquarters representatives were meeting for the statutory delegate congress in the state.

It was gathered that the fracas occurred at the Tahir Guest Palace hotel room of one of the National Headquarters Congress observers while a meeting was ongoing.

It was learnt that the two representatives of the Kano PDP, one Dahiru Haruna, and Idi Zare Rogo were later handed over to the police.

The chairman of the Kano PDP, Shehu Sagagi, on Thursday, disclosed that the National Headquarters’ representative, identified simply as Barrister Ekwudile, was received by party executives at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport and was taken to Tahir Guest Palace but he (Ekwudile) told his hosts that he needed a drink, which they went out to get for him.

“When they came back with his drink, they didn’t see him in his room but were later able to trace him to Room 811 and fracas broke out there,” Sagagi said.

On what led to the fracas, the PDP chairman said while he was not certain, it could be connected with the people they saw Ekwudile with, which he said might have led the duo of Haruna and Rogo to suspect foul play.

He said the party executives in the state also objected to the plan to conduct the ward statutory delegate congress at the hotel instead of the ward secretariat of the party.

The Star