Pandemonium broke out in Kasuwan Ali community, Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State on Sunday after a resident, identified as Sani Abdullahi, was shot dead at the venue of the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives primary election.
PrimeTimes Nigeria learnt that soldiers gunned down Abdullahi after a disagreement over the commencement of the exercise.
Confirming the development, a resident of the community, Ibrahim Sale, in an interview with Daily Trust, said trouble started when some APC members protested the delay in the commencement of the primary, which was earlier scheduled for Saturday.
According to Sale, the soldiers began shooting sporadically after the youth started throwing stones at them.
He said, “The exercise was supposed to hold on Saturday morning, but it didn’t take place because of the absence of returning officers. So the youths started protesting, alleging that the delay was deliberate.
“As this was going on, government officials who came to witness the exercise decided to leave because of the absence of the electoral officers. But some youths blocked the road to prevent the officials from leaving the venue.
“The youths insisted they would not leave until electoral officers arrived to conduct the primary. This drew the attention of security personnel, who moved in to disperse them. As soon as the security personnel arrived, the youths started throwing stones at them. The soldiers then started shooting, and a stray bullet hit the victim.”