Ali Abare, Gombe
Two men were allegedly shot and wounded after soldiers drafted to protect Senator Joshua Lidani (PDP, Gombe South) shot into the air to disperse aggrieved youths reported to have prevented the lawmaker from leaving the residence of a traditional ruler in Talasse, Gombe State.
Wuse Barde, 40, and Abdullahi Umar, 25, were said to have sustained various degree of injuries after soldiers fired into the air to disperse youths that laid siege on Senator Lidani after he visited the paramount ruler in Talasse.
The wounded men are presently on admission at the Specialists Hospital in Gombe.
“As I’m talking with you, we are at the Specialist Hospital. One of the victims still has the bullet lodged in his body,” Umar Gelengu, a resident of Talasse told Daily Sun.
Confirming the incidence, state Commissioner of Police Mr. Shina Olukolu said on phone that Senator Lidani initially visited the traditional ruler in Talasse to felicitate with him but that after youths in the area learned of his presence, “they besieged the palace as usual to put in sundry request.”
Commissioner Olukolu, who absolved police details providing security of any wrongdoing, could not however say who was responsible for the shots that resulted in injuries sustained by the two men now on admission at a Gombe hospital.
“I can’t say who fired into the air. But I can assure you that our men kept their distance while the boys were being persuaded to allow the lawmaker leave the palace. No policeman fired a gun,” the CP said.
Effort by our reporter to get the response of Senator Joshua Lidani failed as the lawmaker could not respond to calls placed on his mobile phone. Two text messages were equally sent but without response.