Pandemonium as bandits snatch Jonathan Campaign Team mobilisation cash in Kogi

There was pandemonium in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, at the weekend, as bandits snatched bags of cash containing millions of naira meant to ‘settle’ some youths to campaign and vote for President Goodluck Jonathan on March 28 in the North-Central state.
Envelopes containing thousands of dollars in cash were also snatched. Venue is a popular hotel in the state capital.
People ran helter-skelter as the bandits shot into the air.
The Co-ordinator of the Goodluck/Sambo Re-election Team in the state, Muhammed Ali, had to run for his life when the shooting started.
Ali, a former council chairman in the Confluence State, was appointed recently to coordinate youths across the North-Central zone. He was about to address the youth when the crisis started.
Although the bandits could not escape with all the bags of money, some angry youths went after the remaining bags, stabbing themselves in the process.
Freedom Online learned that N10,000 was budgetted for each of the youth from all the local governments but “some of them must have tipped the bandits who hid among the crowd and struck when the bags containing the money were being brought in”.
One of the youths said majority of those present did not suspect that bandits were part of the crowd.
“We were patiently waiting. Although we knew that the N10,000 was too small, at least, it was better than nothing. Myself and some of my friends resolved that after collecting the money, we will just leave the place. We were happy when we saw some men bringing in the bags of money. Suddenly, about six bandits emerged from the crowd with guns and went straight for the men. They started shooting and grabbed the bags and envelopes.
“Because of the shooting, there was pandemonium and people started running. But because they were in a hurry, the bandits snatched a few bags and ran away. Then, some of the hard boys around seized the opportunity and went for the remaining bags. It was total confusion as the remaining boys brought out knives, cutlasses and other weapons to fight for the money. The situation worsened due to the fact that notes of naira and dollars littered the ground. Some of the remaining youths grabbed a few notes and left the scene.”
Some of the injured youths were seen being taken to an undisclosed hospital.
The few securitymen around could not contain the situation as they were overwhelmed by the large crowd.