The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State has accused Governor Dauda Lawal of using security personnel attached to the Government House to harass, intimidate, and arrest opposition members in a bid to weaken the party's prospects ahead of the 2027 elections.
In a strongly worded statement, APC state spokesman Mallam Yusuf Idris Gusau claimed that Governor Lawal has repeatedly deployed Government House security details to persecute APC members, describing the practice as an attempt to cripple the opposition and silence dissent.
The accusation centers on the recent arrest of Bashir Isah Gusau (also known as Ambassador), an APC social media influencer and Coordinator for Youth Mobilisation in the Tinubu re-election campaign.
According to the APC, he was apprehended on Wednesday evening by individuals identifying themselves as Department of State Services (DSS) operatives attached to the Government House.
Gusau detailed that the operatives, arriving in a vehicle with a covered plate number from the Government House, tracked Bashir Isah Gusau to a football viewing centre in the Sabon Gari area of Gusau, the state capital, around 10 p.m. When bystanders attempted to intervene, the security personnel allegedly fired live rounds into the air to disperse the crowd before abducting him and speeding away to an unknown location.
The APC spokesman noted that searches of police stations in Gusau yielded no information on his whereabouts, and all of his phone lines have been switched off. He expressed serious concern, stating the party suspects mistreatment at the Government House and condemned the incident as a "sad misapplication of power" and a resurgence of tactics previously halted after public outcry.
Gusau emphasized that such political persecution would not deter the APC from its efforts to reclaim power from the PDP in 2027. He called on the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the DSS to rein in their personnel attached to the Government House.
He added that the party's lawyers have been mobilized to pursue legal action if any members face unjust victimization, while urging APC supporters to remain calm as leaders address the matter.In response, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman in Zamfara, Alhaji Haliru Andi, dismissed the APC's claims as entirely false and baseless.
He denied any involvement by Governor Lawal in the alleged arrest, insisting the governor has never ordered or sanctioned arrests based on political differences.
Andi highlighted that since assuming office in 2023, Governor Lawal has governed inclusively, treating all residents as one family regardless of political affiliation.
He described the accusations as an attempt by the APC to tarnish the governor's reputation amid a lack of substantive criticism of his leadership and development efforts in the state.
Andi maintained that the PDP administration focuses on progress and development for Zamfara, which he said has long struggled, and accused the opposition of resorting to unfounded smears out of fear of the governor's achievements.
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