According to SaharaReporters on Thursday, the Nigerian military authorities have reportedly detained and arrested ten other navy personnel as well as Nigerian Navy Commander Nicholas Akalezi, better known as Akalieze, amid allegations of violent acts in Kogi State prior to Saturday’s governorship election.
Akalezi has reportedly been moved by military authorities to a detention facility in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, according to information obtained by the online daily on Thursday.
A senior military source confirmed his detention, but he did not elaborate on the accusations made against him or the potential for legal action.
“The military has taken the aforementioned Akalieze into custody. He was transported to the military headquarters in Abuja after being taken into custody by the Nigerian Army in Kogi. Alongside him, about ten navy officers were taken into custody, according to the reliable source.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) Campaign Council in Kogi State reportedly alerted SaharaReporters on Tuesday to the possibility that the state administration had formed a “rogue force” to suppress the opposition and their strongholds in advance of Saturday’s governorship election.
READ ALSO: Bishop Kukah criticizes Yahaya Bello, calling him a poor representation of teeming Nigerian youths
According to reports, the party has designated Akalieze as one of the instruments ready to target and intimidate the voters.
SaharaReporters had previously stated that at least four more victims, including a policeman known only as Atabor, were slain by some thugs purportedly affiliated with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) when they broke into the SDP campaign director-general’s home in Anyigba at around six in the morning on Tuesday.
In a statement released by the Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) spokesman, Faruk Adejoh-Audu, the thugs were described as a “rogue force” that Governor Yahaya Bello allegedly organised in advance of the state’s governorship election on Saturday.
Speaking further, the SDP had on Saturday urged the Anyigba community to come together in opposition to the attack orchestrated by the state government and had named six members of the purported squad.
