The chairmanship candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the just concluded Niger State local government election, Abdulmalik Usman Nagenu, has been arrested by security operatives in connection with Sunday’s attack on the convoy of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago.

Nagenu was reportedly apprehended after a video surfaced on social media in which some unidentified individuals were overheard discussing their alleged involvement in the attack.

Sources said the NNPP candidate had gone on a condolence visit in the Masaba area of Bida when he encountered some of his supporters, who initiated a discussion about the incident. The video, which later went viral, captured background voices purportedly making comments linked to the assault on the governor’s convoy.

The spokesperson for the Niger State Police Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed Nagenu’s arrest alongside three other suspects.

“On November 2, 2025, at about 1:45 p.m., reports received from ‘B’ Division, Bida, indicated that when Governor Bago’s convoy was leaving Bida for Minna after the LG election, some miscreants attacked the convoy with stones and other dangerous weapons.

“In the course of dispersing the attackers, DPOs of A and B Divisions mobilised their men and fired teargas, but some vehicles in the convoy were destroyed,” Abiodun said.

He identified the first three suspects as Ali Mohammed and Adamu Hussain, both of Nasarafu area, Bida, and Isah Umaru of Darachita area, Bida. He added that Nagenu, 39, of Bello Masaba area, was later arrested in connection with the incident and mentioned two others, Salihu Mohammed and Abdulrahman Baba, during interrogation.

“All suspects are under investigation and assisting the police to identify others. Efforts to arrest additional suspects are ongoing,” Abiodun added.

Nagenu’s lawyer, Barrister Ibrahim Wali, also confirmed the arrest to Daily Trust, saying his client was being detained at the Area Command in Bida. He noted that the arrest was connected to the viral video and that legal steps were being taken to secure his release.

Efforts to reach officials of the NNPP were unsuccessful. Calls to the state party leader, Danladi Umar Abdulhamid, did not go through, and he failed to respond to messages sent to him.

Niger govt vows to prosecute perpetrators

The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Youth Mobilisation, Hamza Bida, vowed that the state government would ensure that those responsible for the attack were brought to justice.

Speaking with Daza TV, an online Hausa outlet, he said the incident was not connected to the local government poll.

“I’m not happy with what those children did in Bida. What happened was that a day before the election, people gathered at the governor’s residence and he promised to give them money on Sunday. Later that night, a committee, including the House of Representatives member for Bida/Gbako/Katcha, was formed to ensure the money got to everyone,” Bida said.

He added that some youths, dissatisfied with the arrangement, turned violent. “Those who did this are children whose parents have lost control of them, but we’ll teach them a lesson,” he said.

APC wins all chairmanship seats, 271 councillorships

Meanwhile, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) swept all chairmanship positions in the November 1, 2025, local government election despite the rejection of the poll and results by opposition and voters who alleged widespread irregularities and violence.

According to the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission, the APC also won 271 councillorship seats out of 274 wards, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured two in Tafa LGA and one in Rafi LGA.

In a statement on Tuesday, the commission’s Permanent Commissioner for Operations, Barrister Mohammed A. Liman, said certificates of return would be issued to all winners.

CSOs call for INEC to conduct LG polls

Relatively, a coalition of civil society groups, under the National Council of NGOs and Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria, has called on the federal government to transfer the conduct of local government elections from state electoral commissions to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure fairness and transparency.

Speaking at a press conference in Minna, Comrade Emmanuel Areke of the Centre for the Promotion of Peace and Unity in Nigeria said the coalition observed low voter turnout in some areas.

He also urged the federal government to prohibit officials of state electoral commissions from participating in LG elections outside their states, arguing that such involvement undermines the credibility of the polls. (Daily Trust)