Zamfara APC allegations against Lawal over alleged use of Government House security to intimidate opposition members spark political dispute

The Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress accused Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State on Thursday of repeatedly deploying security personnel attached to the Government House to arrest and intimidate opposition members, describing the alleged actions as a troubling abuse of power.

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In a statement issued in Gusau, the state capital, the Zamfara APC spokesman, Yusuf Idris, alleged that Government House security operatives had been used on several occasions to persecute party members in what he described as a deliberate attempt to weaken the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Yusuf Idris said the party was appalled by the reported arrest of Bashir Isah Gusau, an APC member and social media influencer popularly known as Ambassador, who he said was picked up late on Wednesday.

According to the APC spokesman, Bashir Isah Gusau was arrested at about 10 pm at a football viewing centre in the Sabon Gari area of Gusau by four individuals who identified themselves as Department of State Services operatives attached to the Government House.

Yusuf Idris alleged that the operatives arrived in a vehicle with a covered number plate and fired live shots into the air to disperse bystanders who attempted to intervene before forcing the APC member into the vehicle and driving away to an unknown destination.

He said subsequent checks at police stations across Gusau showed that Bashir Isah Gusau was not in police custody, adding that all his phone lines had been switched off.

“We strongly suspect that he is being held at the Government House,” Yusuf Idris said, accusing the Lawal administration of turning state security details into political tools.

The APC spokesman warned that no amount of intimidation would prevent the party from reclaiming power from the Peoples Democratic Party in Zamfara State in 2027, adding that similar incidents in the past were only halted after public outcry.

He said the party had mobilised its lawyers to pursue legal action against any further victimisation of its members and called on the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the Department of State Services to rein in Government House security personnel.

Yusuf Idris urged APC members in the state to remain calm, insisting that the party would not fold its arms in the face of what he described as unjust harassment.

Responding, the Zamfara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party dismissed the allegations as false and baseless.

The PDP spokesman, Haliru Andi, said Governor Dauda Lawal had never victimised opposition members and had governed Zamfara State as one united family since assuming office in 2023, regardless of political affiliation.

Haliru Andi described claims that the governor ordered the arrest of Bashir Isah Gusau as untrue, insisting that the allegations were an attempt by the opposition to smear the governor’s image.

“The governor has no hand in the alleged arrest of Bashir Isah Gusau and has never ordered the arrest of anyone on account of political differences,” Haliru Andi said.

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He added that Governor Lawal considered himself governor of the entire state and not of the PDP alone, stressing that the administration had remained focused on development since taking office.