Gombe: APC youth leader allegedly shot for ballot box snatching
Gombe state youth leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Kawu Mohammed Masu (Top-lero) has been reportedly shot for trying to snatch ballot box and results from the presidential election and parliamentary election.
Northeast star gathered that Masu was shot following an attempt to snatch votes cast at Yahaya Umaru 010 polling unit in Gombe metropolis.
According to an eyewitness account, the attempted ballot box theft followed the announcement from the polling unit where the state governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya cast his vote.
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It could be recalled that the Preceding Officer (PO) of the polling unit which is located at Government Science Secondary School Gombe, Misheal Thomas had announced that the governor who is the North-east coordinator of the Tinubu presidential campaign lost in the polling unit to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In the results, which were announced to the cheers of voters, the PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar polled 215 to defeat the APC candidate, who secured 186 votes at the unit.
The loss is said to have angered the APC family in Gombe and triggered the move to render the result from poling useless.
The eyewitness who pleaded anonymity recount that the APC resorted to snatching the result and ballot box to prevent it from going to the collation centre using youth leader and other machinery for the act.
Another source within the APC camp revealed that the incident occurred at around 8:45 pm when officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were packing up for the day.
“The incident occurred on the road leading INEC office, along Bauchi road in the Gombe metropolis, he (the youth leader) was hanging on the Hilux van when he ordered his boys to snatch the box and other materials.
“When he noticed the reaction of the security personnel providing security for the INEC officials he quickly tried to jump down from the van and he was shot in the left leg and which led to a fracture in the second.
“He was quickly evacuated to the Federal Teaching Hospital in Gombe for treatment,” the source explained in the Hausa language.
At the hospital security personnel mostly soldiers were seen everywhere around the Accident and Emergency (E&A) department of the hospital, while doctors try to save the youth leader’s leg from being damaged permanently.
