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Former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Abubakar Sirika on Tuesday, narrowly escaped a mob attack in Katsina State when he visited the palace of the District Head of Dutsi town in Dutsi Local Government Area of the state to pay a condolence visit to the monarch.
Sirika who holds the traditional title of Marusan Katsina and also serves as the district head of Shargalle in the council, was reportedly at the palace on a condolence visit when the mob made up mostly of angry youths, refused him entry and pelted him with stones and sticks while hauling insults at him.
Videos circulating online showed chaotic scenes as an angry crowd gathered within and around the palace and prevented him from gaining access into the palace.
In one of the video clips, a man is seen being forcefully dragged out of the palace amid loud shouts from the crowd as tensions rapidly escalated while another footage shows the former minister being hurriedly rescued from the palace and driven away to prevent the situation from degenerating into mob violence.
In the background, the angry mob are heard threatening to deal with the minister anytime he dares to come to any part of the state as they kept hurling stones and other objects toward Sirika’s direction, forcing his security detail to swiftly bundle him into a waiting vehicle amid pandemonium.
Though the exact trigger for the outburst remains unclear, it may not be far from lingering resentment over Sirika’s controversial tenure as Aviation Minister from 2015 to 2023 where his flagship Nigeria Air project gulped billions of unaccounted dollars which all turned into a big sham.
Sirika is currently facing multiple trials by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on charges of alleged fraud involving billions of naira in aviation contracts, including awards allegedly linked to family members and companies during airport projects in his home state.
The post Former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, reportedly escapes mob attack in Katsina appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Ripples Nigeria.
