By Ed Malik, A | October 10, 2022
ed@ddnewsonline.com
The controversy over the ownership of the Obajana Cement Company took an ominous twist in the early hours of Monday, as unknown arsonists stormed the State House of Assembly Complex and set it on fire.
The arsonists were suspected to have been sent to burn the Complex in an attempt to possibly destroy evidence relating to the ownership tussle between the Kogi State Government and the Dangote Group over the Obajana Cement Company.
DDNEWSONLINE had reliably gathered that the fire which started about 8.00 AM on Monday, razed down the gallery of the complex and some offices. The State’s Director of Fire Service, Salau Ozigi, said they are investigating the cause of the fire but disclosed that it did not extend beyond the chamber and gallery of the assembly complex.
The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Prince Matthew Kolawole, who had released a statement on Sunday, asking Dangote to come clean on the issue, expressed sadness over the recent turn of event, wondering how a business concern would go this low in an effort to twist history.
He, however, called on the security agencies to investigate the matter, pointing out that there was enough credible intelligence to show that the target of the arsonists was to destroy evidence relating to ongoing investigations on the Kogi-Dangote face-off over the ownership of Obajana Cement Company.
In a related development, security agents attached to the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, foiled an attempt to attack his home, an incident that had never happened before, according to him.
The hoodlums, however, escaped with gunshot wounds.
When contacted, Fanwo accused Alhaji Aliko Dangote of “playing dirty and dangerous” over the Obajana saga, saying, “The resolve of the State Government to defend the people’s rights cannot be broken.”
He said, “The State House of Assembly was set on fire this morning. Remember we exposed plans to attack the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly with fake soldiers yesterday.
“Having discovered that we exposed their satanic plans against the Speaker, they changed tactics to go and burn down the Kogi State House of Assembly. This is an attack on our institution and our people.
“Burning down our Assembly Complex will only further fuel our resolve to right the wrongs of the past. We will take back what legally belongs to us.”
Recall that the State House of Assembly has been at the forefront of efforts at reclaiming the state’s share of the company, which Dangote Group is claiming to own 100 per cent.
The disagreement reached a crescendo when the State House of Assembly ordered the sealing of the company, pending the presentation of the requested documents by the Dangote Group, with youths in the community trooping out to celebrate what they termed “the end of oppression”.
On Saturday, the Kogi State Government exposed certain fight back plans by the Dangote Group, including destabilizing the State and using security agencies to go after key Government offices and officials.
This story will be updated as more facts emerge.