Borno ANPP Blames Burning Of Chairman's House On Politics
SAN FRANCISCO, July 07, (THEWILL) - The Borno State chapter of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) has described the burning of the house of its chairman, Alhaji Mala Othman, in Maiduguri, the state capital, by the youth vigilante group over alleged sponsorship of the Boko Haram sect as politically motivated.
The party, which also alleged that the Civilian JTF has been infiltrated by politicians in search of relevance and would stop at nothing other than drag the name of the ANPP in the mud, condemned the action of the youths.
In a statement signed by its secretary, Alhaji Bakura Shettima, after a crucial meeting on Sunday , the party said it would have ordinarily ignored the incident if it was not ostensibly targeted to smear the proven integrity of Othman.
“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 behaviour is witch hunting of which the people of Borno State are never known for,” the statement said
Arguing that the attempt to implicate the ANPP chairman in the activities of the outlawed Boko Haram sect was a total contradiction of the fundamental truth on ground, the party said: “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.”
While calling for a full investigation of the assault on its chairman, the party said “the youth volunteers should therefore confine themselves to the areas where they live and report any suspicious people or movement to security agencies for necessary action.”
Last Monday, the Civilian JTF , in Maiduguri, attacked the New GRA, Maiduguri home of the ANPP chairman, Othman, attempting to arrest him. But angry at the escape of their target , the youths decided to burn his house.