The All Progressives Congress (APC) Supporters Group in Bauchi state has urged the state government and the police to investigate and unravel the sponsors of thugs that allegedly hijacked a protest by students of Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic (ATAP), Bauchi.
The students had taken to the streets to protest the industrial action embarked on by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of state-owned higher institutions over a request from the government and took over the Bauchi-Jos Expressway and prevented motorists from using the road.
In a statement friday, the leader of the 14 APC supporters group, Sallau Kafi, condemned the violence that resulted from a protest by students of ATAP.
“The members of our group had a meeting unanimously to agree to issue this press statement to call on security agencies to investigate the matter and dig into the root of the matter, some group of hoodlums and political thugs took the advantage and barricaded the Bauchi-Plateau Federal highway to demonstrate against the strike, while attacking the passersby and security personnel,” the statement read in part.
Kafi said the miscreants and hoodlums protesters resorted to burning of tyres, smashing of peoples’ vehicles, damaging property, extortion of mobile phones and looting some shops situated opposite the school before the arrival of police anti-riot squad.
“We urge the security agencies to investigate into the circumstances surrounding the protest and we urged law-abiding indingenes to stay away from all forms of criminality and stop politicising the matter, especially our party members the APC who are taking the advantage of the protest and attacking the government in the media.”
