Ajaka was accused by the Kogi East Patriotic Association's stakeholders, who spoke on behalf of thousands of responsible Igala sons and daughters throughout the zone, as well as Kogites in general, of being stage-managed at the expense of local security.
In response to what they called the most recent false claim of an attempted assassination by the SDP candidate and the involvement of a Police officer who was supposedly brutally hurt by Yakubu's goons, they stated at an emergency news briefing held in Abuja on Thursday.
The stakeholders noted that Kogi State residents and Nigerians were aware that other governorship candidates from opposition parties had been going about their campaigns without bloodshed or violence, but that the SDP and its candidate had, regrettably, allegedly made orchestrated bloodshed the hallmark of their campaign. The stakeholders clarified that they were not endorsing any candidate in the upcoming governorship election.
Every time Ajaka walks out, Kogites experience blood, sobbing, and tears. Is he the lone contender for governor in Kogi State? Without a doubt," they responded.
Abdulkadir Ojonugwa, the convener of the Kogi East Patriotic Association, who spoke to the media on behalf of others, declared, "In the history of Kogi State politics, we have never had a governorship candidate as disorderly and impolite as the SDP candidate, Muritala Yakubu.
"His handlers are equally ignorant and have failed to realize that, while polls would proceed without incident in other areas of the state and others would win more elections, their strategy would simply annihilate the vote in Kogi East at the expense of serious contestants. And we reject this. There has been enough.
Even after he had declined to accept police invites, they charged him with inciting unrest in the area and threatened to carry out a citizens' arrest "and hand him over to the Police" if the deplorable pattern persisted.
"Our people are getting tired of all these violent shenanigans, and if the Police and the state government refuse to do what needs to be done, the people of Kogi East will have no choice but to effect a citizens' arrest of Ajaka and hand him over to the relevant authorities before he kills all of us for his excessive ambition," said Ojonugwa, who is from Olamaboro Local Government Area of Kogi East.
The stakeholders stated that the police officer in the alleged assault video would have been forced to make statements under duress in order to preserve his own life because that was the only way the man might still be alive today.
We could plainly hear the thugs yelling for permission to kill a Federal Republic of Nigerian police officer inside a police station before turning around and blaming the state government for everything.
"As genuine citizens of Kogi State from Kogi East, it is our wish to see a peaceful and credible election in our dear state," the Kogi East stakeholders declared. Since the start of the Kogi State governorship election campaign, we have been keeping an eye on local occurrences, and the pattern of ethnic animosity and violence has not passed our notice.
"The violence we saw yesterday in Kogi State, where a senior police officer was allegedly almost lynched by the thugs of the Social Democratic Party governorship candidate on the false pretenses that he was a part of an attack against Mr. Murtala Ajaka's convoy, further increased our sense of urgency in setting up for this emergency press conference.
"First, we must appeal to the highest levels of the Nigerian Police to act quickly to detain everyone who took part in that heinous deed. You can hear some individuals saying, "Let's kill this idiot," if you pay close attention to the footage. You'll pass away today, and so forth. And it was beyond terrifying and inconceivable to believe that they were able to enter the Idah Police station and came dangerously close to killing that police officer there.
"In his desperation to become governor, this man doesn't seem to care how many people can die or how much havoc can be wrought in order to get there. He has mastered the technique of using propaganda to attribute every act of violence he organizes to the state's leadership, but no longer does any Kogite believe him. They said that the horrific violence that took place yesterday was stage-managed by Mr. Ajaka and his gang of goons.
The stakeholders also stated that Kogi East votes had already been committed to people deserving of the votes, notwithstanding the purported "evil propaganda and lies manufactured daily by Ajaka and his cohorts."
"Even among ourselves in Igala territory, we are aware of whom to rely on. However, we are not here to advocate for anyone; rather, we are here to caution those who profit from inciting violence and victimization that they cannot endanger all of us in pursuit of their unpopular goals.
"We support a peaceful, just, and transparent election on November 11; anyone who stands in the way of those things must be apprehended by security personnel beforehand. Our main goal is to maintain the security, peace, and prosperity of Kogi State, and we will stop at nothing to achieve it.
"We reject all forms of political violence and racial prejudice. They proclaimed, "Even if a politician is our brother or sister, Kogi East residents are intelligent, knowledgeable, and sensible, and we will not tolerate dishonorable conduct from any politician.