Francis Sardauna in Katsina
Former aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives ticket for the Mani/Bindawa Federal Constituency in Katsina State, Ahmed Saleh, has alleged that operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested and detained him to prevent him from participating in the party’s primary election.
Saleh, who addressed journalists Saturday evening after the controversial APC primary, alleged that the detention was carried out on the directive of Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda.
According to the result announced by the Chairman, APC Electoral Committee for the constituency, Shafi’u Abdu Duwan, Saleh was defeated by the Special Adviser to the governor on Girl Child Education and Child Development, Hajiya Jamila Abdu Mani, with 24,989 votes.
But Saleh, who garnered 1,256 votes during the poll, told journalists that he was arrested and detained by operatives of the DSS on the directive of Governor Radda to prevent him from participating in the exercise.
“I got the shock of my life. DSS operatives came and accosted me to the state headquarters on the instructions of His Excellency, the Executive Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda that I should be arrested and detained and never allowed to go to Mani Local Government where the primary election was to take place,” he said.
The aspirant further explained that he was held in the DSS custody throughout the exercise and only released after the primary election had been concluded.
According to Saleh, no genuine direct primary election was conducted in the Mani/Bindawa federal constituency during his detention.
He added that party members and supporters had gathered in anticipation of the exercise, but the process “turned into a gathering of selected individuals” who later announced results in favour of the governor’s aide.
Saleh described the development as “a broad daylight robbery” of his mandate and accused the governor and other unnamed forces within the party of frustrating his ambition despite his loyalty to the APC.
Reacting to the allegations, the Director-General on Media to Governor Radda, Maiwada Dammallam, said governors do not possess constitutional powers to direct the operations of security agencies, including the DSS.
The governor’s aide explained that it was illogical for the aggrieved aspirant to accuse Governor Radda of ordering his arrest or detention.
He further clarified that although governors are regarded as chief security officers of their states, they do not control the day-to-day operations of security agencies.
He said: “Governors are not constitutionally empowered to exercise authority over security agencies, the DSS in this regard. It defies logic therefore for the aggrieved aspirant to accuse His Excellency, Governor Radda of his purported arrest or detention by the DSS.”
Dammallam maintained that the DSS was in the best position to explain the circumstances surrounding the alleged arrest and detention of the APC aspirant.