As members of the public anxiously await the police report on the horrible incident that almost marred the Eid-el-Kabir celebration in Ilorin, Kwara state capital, ABDULWAHAB UMAR BAYO while analysing some issues trailing the ugly incident witnessed during Sallah celebration in the state, concludes that miscreants may have taken over Kwara politics.

Members of the public are anxiously waiting for the police report on the ugly incident that almost marred the Eid-el-Kabir celebration in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital. How long they will have to wait is a matter of conjecture, though the state police command has promised to let the public know the outcome of its investigation into the incident.  But, a number of theories are already doing the round. One of them is that suspected miscreants might have been responsible for the incident.

There is no gain saying that before the crisis created by some miscreants at the eid (Sallah) praying ground, there were security reports of a planned attack on dignitaries on that day and at the venue. No one could give a definite reason why those behind it might do so. Thus, the speculation in a few places was that it could be connected with unpaid workers’ salary as Sallah celebrations approached.

Meanwhile, the state government said it was still in the dark over the purpose or who the attack was directed, as majority of state and local government workers, including primary school teachers had received their salaries and promised that those that were yet to receive their salaries would get it after Sallah because September 24 and 25 were public holidays.

At a press conference called by the Kwara state police command before the festival, the commissioner of police, Mr. Esosa Amadasun, had confirmed the plan to pelt dignitaries at the Eid praying ground with stones and sachets of water. He said necessary measures would be taken to foil the plan. “We don’t take it as rumour. We see it as useful information because every piece of information is important to us in fighting crime and criminality,” he had said.

This is just as the police command deployed about 2,000 of its officers and men to strategic locations in the state capital and other places, as part of measures to forestall breakdown of law and order on the Sallah day.
Aside the preparation made to ensure security by the law enforcement agencies in the state, opinion and religious leaders were on air urging residents of the town to shun all acts capable of leading to the breakdown of law and order. They were warned against coming to the prayer ground with any harmful object.

However, at a point in time when Muslim faithful had assembled as early as 8:00 am to offer two rakat to mark the day, some people among the worshippers decided to utter unprintable words, as well as hurl sachets of water and stones at dignitaries who arrived at the venue of sallah prayer.

The roll call of the dignitaries that arrived early included the Senate President, Dr. BukolaSaraki, Speaker of Kwara State House of Assembly, Dr Ali Ahmad; a front-line APC leader in the state, Alhaji Kawu Baraje; a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Alfa Belgore; emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Zulu Gambari, among others.

All of them were under a canopy.
The state governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed was not at the praying ground, as he was said to have observed the Sallah festivities in his hometown, Share, in Ifelodun local government area of the state. An eyewitness claimed the hoodlums became more unruly as some individuals tried to calm them down.

In spite of the sad development, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the state Police Command, Ajayi Okasanmi, said the prayers still held. “We deployed enough policemen in synergy with other security agencies to make sure the celebration was peaceful. It was free but in the course of prayers, there was this insurgence of criminals which we had put into consideration before planning our strategy the previous day.

We know normally that some hoodlums always come there to beg for money from dignitaries and members of the public. So, they came as usual and when we noticed that they were becoming unruly, we had to come out to really prevent them from gaining access to where the VIPs were standing,” he said.
A Government House source also explained that the government had been doing its best to ameliorate the salary situation including a directive by Governor Ahmed to council chairmen to pay at least one month of their arrears pending when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would release their own bailout package.

This is just as the Media Office of the Senate President denied the reports that the Senate President, Dr. BukolaSaraki, was allegedly attacked at the Eid Prayer Ground during the prayers to mark the Eid-el-Kabir in Ilorin. According to the team, the Senate President arrived at the venue without any incident and prayed with other Muslim faithful, including the Emir of Ilorin, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ali Ahmad and a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Alfa Belgore, among others, added that, “Before the Senate President left the prayer ground, he spoke to reporters who had asked him about his message for Nigerians to mark the Eid-el-Kabir.

Also, the state government, in a statement, stated that majority of the workers in the state had received their salaries. While condemning the attack, it described the development as absurd, barbaric and un-Islamic. In a statement, the chief press secretary to the governor, Abdulwahab Oba, said the government heard of plans by some aggrieved politicians in collaboration

with some local government employees and teachers to protest arrears of salaries owed them by their various local government authorities. ‘As a result of this, government quickly went out of its way to negotiate and secure bank loans to offset the arrears pending the time when the Federal Government bailout will be released as a result of which the concerned workers promptly received their salaries as directed by the state governor,” it stated.

The statement urged politicians not to turn Kwara into another state of violence, just as it asked the police to bring to justice without delay those already apprehended.Meanwhile, the police have said they said they were yet to get “anything tangible” over the incident. The spokesperson of the police command, Ajayi Okasanmi, said men of the command were still trying to unravel the mystery behind the incident. He explained that no fresh arrest had been made but promised that a detailed report of the investigation would be made available.