Borno State Commissioner of Youths, Sports and Poverty Alleviation, Hon. Saina Buba, has retracted his controversial remark threatening to cut off the finger of anyone who pointed at government officials.

While speaking at the City Boy Movement Empowerment Programme in Maiduguri, earlier in the week, Buba had threatened opponents of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Buba had reportedly declared that citizens who voted for the ruling party would be fed with honey, while those who refused to support them would face physical punishment by caning.

The aggressive rhetoric sparked sharp criticism from various quarters, with civil society groups and political observers warning that the comments threatened public safety, violated democratic norms, and endangered dissenting voices in the state.

Critics argued that such language from a serving public official was unbecoming and posed a direct threat to multi-party democracy.

But Buba held a press briefing where he said he had no apology for his comment on the ground that there was no opposition in Borno and no one could fairly accuse him of threatening opponets.

After the briefing, the widespread anger continued, with critics blaming authorities and saying the man showed no remorse.

On Tuesday, the police high command said it had launched a critical probe into the inciting comments made by Buba and two other APC chieftains.

Fielding questions from Defence Correspondents at a joint security briefing in Abuja, on Tuesday, the force spokesman, Anietie Iniedu, described the inciting comments particularly in relation to the electoral process, as “a criminal offence”.

He said, “On the issue of the Senator in Osun State, the Council Chairman in FCT and the Borno Commissioner’s inciting comments, I was part of the team that questioned the distinguished Senator in Osun State.

“The law is very clear when it comes to inciting. It is criminal to incite members of the public, especially as you comment on the electoral process,” he had said.

Hours after the comment of the police spokesman, Buba issued a statement to address the controversy.

He expressed regret over the uproar his comments caused and offered an unreserved apology to the people of Borno State.

“In recent days, a comment I made during the empowerment programme organised by the City Boy Movement in Maiduguri has generated considerable concern within the public space.”

“I wish to state, unequivocally, that my remark was never intended to harm or violate the fundamental rights of the people of our dear state to freedom of choice and association, as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)” he said

While noting that he had previously attempted to clarify that the remark was not meant to be taken literally, the commissioner acknowledged the gravity of ongoing public concern, prompting him to issue a formal retraction

“I had earlier provided clarification that the comment was not intended to be taken in its literal sense.

“However, in view of the concern it has continued to generate, I am using this medium to retract my earlier statement formally and to apologise to the entire people of Borno State and beyond for any offence it may have caused.

“Let me state in categorical terms that my comment does not in any way represent the ideals of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the administration of His Excellency, Governor Professor Babagana Umara Zulum.

“This administration does not in any way undermine the rights of our citizenry. Rather, the party and the administration continue to uphold and respect every segment of our society, particularly our youth, who have remained steadfast supporters of both the party and the Zulum administration.

“Governor Zulum and the APC have consistently demonstrated a true democratic spirit over the past seven years, and this commitment will remain unwavering to the very end of his tenure.”

Federal Capital Territory FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, has accused the governors of Imo and Kwara states – Senator Hope Uzodinma and Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq – of working against him, alleging that both men have failed to reciprocate the political support he claims to have extended to them in the past.

Speaking during a media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, on Wednesday, Wike said the Kwara State Governor has been at the forefront of a campaign against him, adding that he has personally confronted the governor over the matter. “Take for example, Kwara, he has been the one championing this campaign against me everywhere. Yes, I have confronted him too. I don’t talk about what I cannot defend”, he said.

According to him, the Kwara governor had accused him of sponsoring candidates against his own preferred choices in the state, adding that the governor ought to be grateful to him for offering a platform to aggrieved APC bigwigs who ditched the party for his own Peoples Democratic Party PDP rather than going to pitch a tent with the anti-Bola Tinubu coalition.

The minister also referenced a strained relationship with the Imo State Governor, recalling that the governor once declined to support him. “Governor Hope, he knows the support I give to him,” he said.

Wike insisted that despite these grievances, his focus remains on delivering President Bola Tinubu’s re-election, and that he would not allow personal disputes with the governors to distract from that goal.

The minister maintained that he has never concealed his political intentions and challenged those alleging he was working against the interests of All Progressives Congress APC governors to state clearly what support they had extended to him in his own political battles.

“Any Nigerian who knows me know that I have never hidden my intention,” he said.

Bandits have allegedly attacked communities in Kano State for the third consecutive day, killing at least one person and abducting the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rogo Local Government Area.

Report quoted an anonymous source as saying that the latest attack occurred in Beli village, Rogo LGA, where gunmen reportedly invaded the community at about 1 a.m. on Tuesday, fired sporadically, shot a resident and abducted the local APC chairman, Alhaji Audu Fanka Salisu Yahaya.

Yahaya was said to be a close associate of the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, Jibril Ismail Falgore, who is a native of the local government area.

A young man was also reportedly killed during the attack, while some residents were said to have sustained gunshot injuries.

“They came in, firing sporadically, and went straight to the chairman’s house. They broke down the door, brought him out and took him away. On their way, they shot a young man, who was not more than 25 years old, and he died instantly,” the source said.

Several Facebook posts by residents of the area further corroborated the report, with calls for security agencies and other relevant authorities to come to their aid.

The incident is the latest in a series of attacks reported across communities in the area since Sunday.

On Sunday, suspected bandits reportedly invaded Chiromawa in Garin Malam Local Government Area, where they allegedly killed three people and abducted an elderly man.

The abducted man was later said to have escaped from his captors.

A day later, on Monday night, the attackers reportedly struck neighbouring Rantan community in Bebeji Local Government Area, killing two people.

The latest incident in Beli brings the reported attacks to three consecutive days, raising fresh concerns over the security situation in parts of Kano State.

Security agencies have yet to issue an official statement on the alleged attack.