Kaduna PDP Condemns Illegal Detention Of Chikun/Kajuru Rep Candidate, Campaign DG, Demands Immediate Release
By Juliet Vincent
The People’s Democratic Party, (PDP), Kaduna State Chapter has strongly condemned the orchestrated clampdown on opposition figures by the Uba Sani-led administration using federal security and anti-graft agencies.
A statement by the State chairman, Sir Edward Percy Masha on Monday, said its candidate for the Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency bye-election, Princess Esther Ashivelli Dawaki, was invited by the EFCC and subsequently detained without bail.
“This is in addition to the continued illegal detention of our party’s Campaign Director General, Alhaji Shehu Fatangi, for 12 days in the same EFCC facility, despite meeting all conditions for administrative bail,” the chairman said.
According to him, the Uba Sani-led government, in a desperate bid to emasculate the opposition and rig the August 16, 2025 bye-elections, ordered Operation Fushin Kada—a security outfit of the Kaduna State Government—to raid a hotel that their campaign committee was using as its campaign office, abduct the candidate and other party leaders, and carted away campaign funds meant for agents’ logistics and welfare.
Sir Masha said the campaign DG was subsequently transferred to the Department of State Services and paraded as a PDP agent caught with money for vote buying before he was handed over to the EFCC.
He pointed out that the action is a clear demonstration of executive rascality and a shameless attack on democracy, reminiscent of the Hobbesian state of nature where might is right.
“The PDP demands the immediate release of our detained members by the EFCC. Failure to comply will leave us with no choice but to take bold action, including mobilizing our members across the state to occupy the EFCC facility in Kaduna State,” the chairman stressed.
He, however, appealed to the EFCC Chairman, Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyede, to intervene before the situation degenerates to an uncontrollable point.
“We wish to state emphatically that the PDP will not sit idly by while the government uses security or anti-graft agencies to intimidate and oppress its members. We are committed to defending democracy and the PDP in Kaduna State at all costs. We will continue to hold the government accountable while also defending the rights of our members and citizens at all times. This, I promise,” Sir Masha noted.