Jonathan’s aide escapes lynching in Kano

The Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on School Agriculture, Dr. Baraka Sani, on Saturday in Kano escaped death from the hands of suspected political thugs, who prevented her from voting. The incident happened at Jigriya Ward in Dakatar Quarters, Nasarrwa area of Kano State, when Baraka was attempting to cast her vote but was prevented by the thugs, who hauled missiles at her. According to an eyewitness account, the thugs on sighting Baraka started chanting: “Ba muayi, ba zaki ye zabe ba,” meaning, “We are not with you and will not allow you to vote.” In the ensuing fracas, which lasted for over 10 minutes, two of Baraka’s aides sustained injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital for medical attention. The thugs hauled pebbles at the President’s aide before a good Samaritan came to her rescue, as she was shielded and escorted from the scene of the incident to a waiting black Honda Pilot Jeep, which zoomed off immediately. Sani, who rushed back home and mobilised a combined team of security operatives, comprising the Army, Air Force, Directorate of State Security and the Police, who accompanied her to the polling unit where she eventually cast her vote amidst tight security. Narrating her ordeal, Sani asked, “Is that the kind of change Nigerians are yearning for, where Nigerians would be denied their constitutional right? Is this the kind of change that women will be summoned before the ICC? “Is this the kind of change that the opposition is denigrating women that they will never again participate in the political process, limiting their freedom of expression, freedom and constitutional right?”