A driver attached to the office of the Chief of Staff to Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya physically assaulted a serving local government councillor in broad daylight.
The person assaulted was identified by some witnesses as a councillor representing Shamaki Ward in Gombe Local Government Area. The assault was started when the councillor seat on the driver’s motorcycle.
Therefore, passersby who witnessed the scene were left in shock as the man, identified as a driver attached to Abubakar Inuwa Kari, the Chief of Staff to the Gombe State Governor, descended on the councillor with a flurry of punches and blows.
“I’m sorry… please stop,” the councillor could be heard repeatedly begging in the video, his voice trembling as he remained seated and unable to defend himself.
Despite the pleas, the attacker appeared undeterred, his aggression escalating as he struck the councillor again and again. Bystanders unsuccessfully pleaded with him to stop. At one point, the man was heard speaking in Hausa, angrily questioning the councillor’s conduct, demanding: “Do you consider yourself a mate of the Chief of Staff?” a remark that seemed to justify his violent reaction.
Eyewitnesses described the scene as chaotic, with shocked onlookers urging calm. One passerby is heard saying, “Stop it, he is apologising,” but the driver continued, repeatedly hitting and humiliating the councillor in front of stunned members of the public.
The incident has triggered widespread outrage on social media, with commentators condemning what many described as an alarming example of the abuse of influence and authority by individuals in the vicinity of powerful political figures.
Critics have decried the assault as a blatant disregard for the rule of law and a troubling escalation of political impunity at the grassroots level, issues that have been subject to national debate in recent years amid wider concerns about respect for democratic institutions and public office holders.
At the time of filing this report, neither the Gombe State Government nor the office of the Chief of Staff had issued an official statement addressing the incident or the role of the driver involved. Calls for urgent investigations and accountability measures are now mounting from civil society groups and opposition figures alike.
