9 houses burnt as PDP/APC clash in Jigawa

Our correspondent who visited the village along with other journalists noticed that the account of the event by the APC and the PDP supporters were conflicting.
The APC leader in the village, Malam Bala Giwa, told journalists that the PDP unleashed an unprovoked attack on them.
He said, “On Sunday we heard that the House of Rep candidate of the PDP for Birnin-Kudu/ Buji Federal constituency, Ali Tukur Gantsa, will be coming for campaign in our area.
“Immediately they arrived, they set fire on the stall of those APC boys and started chasing people up and down with machete. They burnt about nine houses in all. The police later came and tear-gassed us.  The PDP youth later burnt one of their vehicle and pulled down their party office in order to blame it on the APC.”
In his own account, Gantsa of the PDP said the entire event was carried out by the APC.
“We had a peaceful rally in Giwa. I was already at the village square addressing party supporters when an APC youth ran toward us and said part of the village is on fire. Some of our people now went to see what is happening.
“It was then they discovered that our party vehicle and office has been burnt to ashes. The PDP government in the last eight years has done a lot for people in that axis. So our campaign is based on record of performance not violence.”
The police public relations officer, Abdul Jinjiri, confirmed the incident but added that no one has been arrested yet.