Tension as former Bauchi LG APC chairman dies mysteriously

The sudden death of the former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress  (APC), Bauchi Local Government Area chapter, Alhaji Hussaini Musa Gwabba, has left a lot of speculations among the people, especially his family and political associates wondering about the cause of his death.

Gwabba died in mysterious circumstances on May 14 at the  age of 62.

He was found in a distressed situation in his hotel room in Bauchi and was taken to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital where the doctors confirmed him dead.

According to a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Mohammed Ahmed Wakil,  a good Samaritan raised an alarm when he found the deceased in a room in Khairan Hotel in a distressed situation.

“The DPO of C Division visited the scene at Khairan Hotel  located behind Specialist Hospital, Bauchi, where he met the victim vomiting in his room and took him to ATBU Teaching Hospital  Bauchi for treatment, where he was certified dead by a medical doctor.

“Preliminary investigation has led to the arrest of three suspects for interrogation,” Wakil said in a statement issued in Bauchi.

He said the result of the autopsy was being awaited and promised that the outcome of the investigation will be made public.

“We are keen to know the actual truth of how this gentleman died. That is the reason why we have carried out the autopsy and only the scientific result of the autopsy can reveal everything. It takes time but it will be made public and all the perpetrators will be brought to book.”

The police spokesman said three suspects have been  arrested in connection with the death of the former chairman.

However, the death has raised a lot of questions with many of his associates suspecting foul play. Many believed that he was poisoned by some people who disagreed with him politically.

They based their suspicion on the fact that the deceased was a peace-loving man and was never known to be engaged in any public argument with his opponents.

They alleged that his death could have been the result of his close association with a former governor of the state, Mohamed Abubakar, whose opponents had vowed not to allow him to return as governor of the state.

Some people alleged that he was killed after he received a series of threats to his life which forced him to relocate from his house to the hotel in order to hide from his killers.

They said his family was aware of his whereabouts and have been taking food to him in his hiding place.

When contacted, a representative of the family of the deceased, Dr Bala Gambo Jahun, said the family would not like to comment on the cause of the death as they were waiting for the outcome of the police’s investigation.

He said they also believed that each human would one day die and those who killed their brother would also  die one day.

“We are only praying to Allah to forgive his sins  and to reward him with Jannatul Firdausi,” he said.

The former Bauchi State governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, in a statement by his aide, Abubakar Gabi, said  though death was inevitable, the mystery behind it should not be swept under the carpet simply for political gains.

He called for a thorough investigation of the death to unravel whoever has a hand in the death of the late chairman.

The former governor said he would work hard as a senior lawyer to ensure that the full wrath of the law is meted out on whosoever was involved in the dastardly act.

A ward chairman of APC in Bauchi Local Government Area appealed to the nine APC  gubernatorial aspirants to come to the aid of the family of the deceased. “He had no house; the family are living as tenants in someone’s house, so they should please help them to get a house,” he said.

One of the aspirants, Alamin Sani Muhammad, urged people to remain calm and allow security agencies to do their investigation and pledged to support the family in the best way he could afford.

A childhood friend of the deceased, Mukhtar Sani, said the sad news came to him as a shock as he wondered what he could have done to deserve being killed.

“We, his friends, will ensure that justice is done, and whoever has a hand in the circumstances that led to his death must be brought to face the full wrath of the law,’’ he said.

A political associate of the late Hussaini, Alhaji Auwalu Sani, described the incident as a strange thing to happen in the history of Bauchi politics.

“Just because someone stood by the truth, some people who are not comfortable with the new thing ganged up to kill him. Allah will expose them,” he said.

He also called on the Bauchi State Police Command to ensure that all those pointed out in the killing were apprehended and made to face justice.

The ward chairmen of the party in Bauchi Local Government Area have also condemned the alleged murder of their leader.

Speaking on their behalf, the chairman of Hardo Daniya Ward, Mallam Abdulaziz Hardo, called for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death  of Alhaji Hussaini.

“It is unfortunate that such a thing is happening,  especially  now that political activities are picking up all over the country.  This is a time when people are expected to follow the rules of the game, but we are busy destroying our political  opponents’ posters and even assassinating the one who was preaching peace and politics without bitterness.

It is unfortunate for anyone to kill a peace-loving and trustworthy person like Alhaji Hussaini. One wonders; who do they want to play politics with?” he asked.

Hardo said politicians should play their game with the fear of Allah and the knowledge that life is temporary.

“One day Allah will question whatever you did on earth either good or bad.

“We pray the security agencies are not buying time to sweep the matter under the carpet. We pray they will do all they could to fish out the killers of our leader and punish them. If they fail to  do it, God will also not spare them.

“We will continue to pray for the repose of his soul ,” he said.

The chairmen called for assistance to the family of the deceased especially to cushion the effect of the loss,” he said.

All attention is now focused on the police as they continue with their investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the death of the politician.

His political associates and analysts say this is necessary to calm nerves especially as political activities are heightened in the state and the country. (Credit, except for amended headline: Daily Trust)