From Jonas Ike, Abuja
The Inspector General of Police has directed the Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to immediately detain and personally carry out a thorough investigation of policemen involved in the incident that resulted in the death of Miss Anita Akapson at Katampe Extension, Abuja on the night of Saturday, 13th October, 2018; and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The IGP equally deeply commiserated with the family of the deceased and assured them that justice will be done in the matter.
According to the Police authoriities, the Commissioner of Police FCT Command is already in touch with the family as directed by the Inspector General of Police.
A statement by the Force spokesman At DCP Mosshood Jimoh said that the public will be informed of the outcome of investigations into the incident.
Tag: IGP
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IGP orders detention of policemen over death of Akapson
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Police kill 2 suspected killers of IGP men in Kaduna
The Kaduna State Police Command said on Thursday that its men killed two suspected killers of IGP Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Sabon Birni Village, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Acting Commissioner of Police, DCP Ahmad Kontagora, disclosed this at a news conference in Kaduna.
Kontagora said the police, since the incident, had embarked on intensive manhunt of the perpetrators and other cases of crime within the command to arrest and bringing all the culprits to book.
“The successes recorded in the fight against crime and criminality in Kaduna command during the few weeks under review shows that on Aug. 16, the IGP Special Tactical Squad (STS) alongside operatives from Operation Yaki, acted on intelligence and raided an armed robbers/kidnappers hide out on Sabon Birni village.
“After a fierce gun duel with the bandits, two suspected armed bandits were fatally injured and rushed to Barau Dikko Hospital Kaduna for treatment but were confirmed dead on arrival,” he said.
He said arms recovered from the suspects included one AK 47 Riffle, and five live ammunition from the scene.
“Investigations reveal that the suspects belong to the gang of criminals terrorising Birnin Gwari axis and are responsible for the killing of one Inspector Felix Yohanna attached to FSARS last year.
“He was killed at Walawa forest and the four IGP IRT personnel died in an ambush at Jankasa.”
He said that the command`s Anti Kidnapping and FSARS squads as well as the SIB had also recorded additional successes in arresting suspected criminals and made recoveries of exhibits during the period.
“They include seven suspected kidnappers, eight suspected armed robbers, four suspected notorious fraudsters and three suspected shop breakers.
“We recovered three AK 47 Riffles, three magazines with 20 rounds of ammunition, two motor vehicles mainly Golf Wagon with registration Number ES 904 FST and a Toyota Corolla with number plate RBC 04 MQ, all blue in colour.
He said the suspects had made useful statements and were still undergoing investigation and would be charged to court on completion of investigation.
The commissioner assured members of the public that the command would not relent on its efforts in fighting all forms of crime and criminality in Kaduna State.
He appealed to the public to continue to assist the police and other security agencies with useful information about the activities of persons likely to constitute danger to the society, to ensure effective crime prevention and control.
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Kaduna: Police kill two suspected killers of IGP men
The Kaduna State Police Command said on Thursday that its men killed two suspected killers of IGP Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Sabon Birni Village, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Acting Commissioner of Police, DCP Ahmad Kontagora, disclosed this at a news conference in Kaduna.
Kontagora said the police, since the incident, had embarked on intensive manhunt of the perpetrators and other cases of crime within the command to arrest and bringing all the culprits to book.
“The successes recorded in the fight against crime and criminality in Kaduna command during the few weeks under review shows that on Aug. 16, the IGP Special Tactical Squad (STS) alongside operatives from Operation Yaki, acted on intelligence and raided an armed robbers/kidnappers hide out on Sabon Birni village.
“After a fierce gun duel with the bandits, two suspected armed bandits were fatally injured and rushed to Barau Dikko Hospital Kaduna for treatment but were confirmed dead on arrival,” he said.
He said arms recovered from the suspects included one AK 47 Riffle, and five live ammunition from the scene.
“Investigations reveal that the suspects belong to the gang of criminals terrorising Birnin Gwari axis and are responsible for the killing of one Inspector Felix Yohanna attached to FSARS last year.
“He was killed at Walawa forest and the four IGP IRT personnel died in an ambush at Jankasa.”
He said that the command`s Anti Kidnapping and FSARS squads as well as the SIB had also recorded additional successes in arresting suspected criminals and made recoveries of exhibits during the period.
“They include seven suspected kidnappers, eight suspected armed robbers, four suspected notorious fraudsters and three suspected shop breakers.
“We recovered three AK 47 Riffles, three magazines with 20 rounds of ammunition, two motor vehicles mainly Golf Wagon with registration Number ES 904 FST and a Toyota Corolla with number plate RBC 04 MQ, all blue in colour.
He said the suspects had made useful statements and were still undergoing investigation and would be charged to court on completion of investigation.
The commissioner assured members of the public that the command would not relent on its efforts in fighting all forms of crime and criminality in Kaduna State.
He appealed to the public to continue to assist the police and other security agencies with useful information about the activities of persons likely to constitute danger to the society, to ensure effective crime prevention and control.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the IGP, IRT operatives where ambushed on Aug. 11 at Jankasa village of Rigasa in Igabi Local Government Area.
NAN
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Saraki not exonerated from Offa robbery probe – AGF, IG insist
All might not be over for the embattled Senate President, Bukola Saraki over his alleged involvement in the Offa robbery incident that happened earlier this year.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) said there was nowhere Saraki was cleared in the opinion of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) rendered on the interim report of investigation submitted for the DPP’s advice by the police, as being claimed.
They stated that instead, the DPP, having analysed the interim report of investigation by the police, suggested areas of further investigation as regard claims by some of those being held over the crime, particularly as it relates to the source of the weapons used and where the operation was plotted.
The AGF, the IGP and the NPF noted that pursuant to the advice by the DPP, further investigation has been conducted, following which a more detailed investigation report has since been submitted to the DPP for his further opinion.
They said it was premature for anyone to claim that Saraki had been exonerated as “investigation is still ongoing on the case”. They denied the claim that the decision to question Saraki over the case was political and intended to blackmail him and dent his reputation.
They said the information linking Saraki to the case was provided by some individuals arrested in relation to the case, who claim to be political thugs to the Senate President.
The AGF, the NPF and the IGP spoke in their separate counter affidavits filed in response to a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by some 10 individuals, who claimed to be acting for the Senate President. The suit is pending before Justice M. A. Nasir of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Jabi, Abuja.
The applicants – Anthony Onukaogu, Lawrence Umudu, Bamidele Ojo, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, Ogechi Duruaku, Veronica Onoja, Chidiebere Achebe, Chika Onyiorah, Chigozie Eburuo and Patrick Uzim – claimed in the suit, that the decision by the police to question Saraki in relation to the robbery was instigated by his political enemies; intended to blackmail him and dent the Senate President’s reputation.
Besides filing separate counter-affidavits, the respondents – AGF, NPF and the IGP – also filed motions and notices of objection, challenging the applicants’ locus standi, the court’s jurisdiction and the propriety of court’s interim order of injunction, made on August 8 by Justice Nasir, restraining the respondents from further inviting Saraki in relation to investigation on the robbery case.
On Thursday, Tijani Ganzali (for the AGF), O. M. Atoyebi (for the NPF) and S. Jibrin (for the IGP) informed the court about the various processes they filed on behalf of their clients, which they were yet to serve on the applicants.
The applicants’ lawyer, E. C. Nweke, prayed the court for a short adjournment to enable him respond to the respondents’ processes, which he said were to be served on him in court on Thursday. Justice Nasir, upon agreement by parties, adjourned the matter till September 3 for hearing.
The AGF said in his counter affidavit that contrary to the applicants’ claim in paragraph 23 of their affidavit, the police interim investigation report on the Offa, Kwara State robbery and other alleged crimes, “as it affects Senator Bukola Saraki, revealed that further thorough investigation be made so as to ascertain whether the planning and the execution of the robbery attack of 5th April 2018 at Offa, Kwara State was carried out at his instance, knowledge or approval.
“Or whether the weapons used for the robbery attack were supplied by him (Saraki); and other possible areas which will aid the establishment of prima facie case against whoever is involved. The interim investigation report is not a conclusive investigation and does not put an end to the investigation of Senator Bukola Saraki, hence the investigation to ascertain direct or any possible link of Senator Bukola Saraki and the robbery incident is still on going.
“That the Interim Investigation Report does not in any way exonerate Senator Bukola Saraki from any further investigation. As a matter of fact, Senator Bukola Saraki has no immunity whatsoever from investigation, arrest, detention or prosecution where reasonable suspicion is established.
“Contrary to paragraphs 8, 14, 17 and 21 of the applicants’ affidavit, neither the position of Senator Bukola Saraki as the Nigerian Senate President nor his political portfolio is a barrier to any investigation by the 2nd and 3rd respondents (NPF and IGP) if he is suspected of having committed any crime.
“There was never a time Senator Bukola Saraki, in the cause of his investigation in relation to the Offa, Kwara State robbery incident, that he was detained in breach of the provisions of the law. All invitations made by the 2nd and 3rd respondents to Senator Bukola Saraki, in respect of the Offa robbery are in an effort to ascertain the veracity of the allegation made against him in accordance with the spirit of right to fair hearing.
“The 2nd and 3rd respondents have the statutory duty to investigate Senator Bukola Saraki or any other person linked to the alleged commission of any offence. The investigation and/or invitation of the Senator Bukola Saraki is not in any way malicious or aimed at tarnishing his image,” the AGF said.
The IGP, in his counter affidavit, gave an insight into what informed police’s decision to question Saraki over the robbery incident and why it was wrong for the Senate President to rush to conclusion based on the interim report submitted to the DPP by the police.
The IGP stated that following the April 5, 2018 case of multiple bank robberies involving six banks, attack on police station and murder of thirty-one (31) individuals, including nine (9) police officers in Offa, the police arrested some suspects, including Ayoade Akinnibosun, lbikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Ibrahim, Salawudeen Azeez and Niyi Ogundiran, and recorded their statements in which they allegedly admitted involvement in the crime.
The IGP added: “One of the suspects, Ayoade Akinnibosun, confessed to being a political thug to the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki and the Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatai Ahmed. The said Ayoade Akinibosun equally stated that some of the arms and ammunition used in the armed robbery operation were procured by the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki and the Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatai Ahmed.
“Based on the statement of Ayoade Akinnibosun, the Senate President was invited to make statement to respond to the allegations and he eventually made a statement to the Police. After initial investigation, the police forwarded the case file to the Attorney-General of the Federation and the DPP rendered a legal advice in which it was concluded that some of the suspects have cases of armed robbery and unlawful possession of Firearms to answer.
“As regards the Senate President, the DPP’s legal advice states in paragraph f as follows ‘for the Senate President—this office is unable to establish from the evidence in the interim report a nexus between the alleged offence and the suspects, Hence, it is our advice that further and thorough investigation in this regard be carried out.’
“The DPP’s advice, in same paragraph f, states that the areas to be covered include, but not limited to the following: (i) establish whether the planning and the execution of the robbery attack of 5th of April 2018 at Offa were carried out at their instance, knowledge and approval, (ii) whether the weapons used for the robbery attack aforementioned were supplied by either the Senate President, Bukola Saraki or the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatai Ahmed Maigida (iii) any other area or areas that may assist in establishing a prima facie case of aiding and abetting crime or accessory after the fact.
“Based on the advice of the DPP and after more investigations, the Senate President was invited again to make statement and he made another statement and the case file was duplicated and forwarded back to the Attorney-General of the Federation for advice. As soon as the advice of the DPP is out, anybody indicted will be charged to court as required by law,” the IGP said.
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Premium Times vs Police: Why IGP Idris is mad about the letter – Azu Ishiekwene
Azu Ishiekwene
It might appear strange that of all the problems that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has on his table his biggest concern is how to squeeze a journalist to disclose the source of a leak. But there’s a reason for his obsession.
One week ago, Samuel Ogundipe, a reporter with Premium Times, wrote a story from a leaked letter by IGP Idris to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, which was supposed to be an interim report on the invasion of the National Assembly by the State Security Service.
The letter was not published by Premium Times alone. Other newspapers feasted on it. The social media was awash with it as well. So, why has Idris made Ogundipe and Premium Times his scapegoat?
The suspicion of the management of Premium Times is partly correct. But there’s more to it. The IGP’s high-handed response may not be unconnected with a series of critical stories published by the online newspaper about the Force.
In other words, Idris thinks it’s his job to teach Premium Times what to report and how to report it, if not for the public, at least for Idris Times published and edited by the editor-in-chief in Edet House, Abuja.
My guess is that there’s something deeper, much deeper, about this particular scoop that wraps the multiple private and public miseries of the Idris years into a single, devasting blow for the man.
After two years of trying to figure out what his job is about and punching above his weight in spite of his best efforts, the heat is getting to him and Premium Times just happened to be his nearest target.
But how can he forget that Ogundipe, arguably one of the best investigative journalists along with Nicholas Ibekwe (also of Premium Times), did not draw “the first blood?” How can Idris forget that the press is only a messenger, a witness to truth bound by constitutional obligation to hold government accountable?
It was Senator Isah Misau, not Premium Times, that first accused IGP Idris of being one of the worst to reach the top in recent times.
Misau, a retired police officer familiar with where the dead bodies in the Force are buried, said, on the floor of the Senate Chamber last year, that bribes-for-promotions and postings had worsened under Idris.
He said the IGP made things worse by even trying to bribe First Lady Aisha Buhari with two SUVs that should have been out chasing criminals and dared the Force to deny his allegations.
Of course, the Force denied it, but the growing reports of violent crimes across the country on Idris’ watch and the seeming helplessness of the Force did not help matters. Everyone except those in Idris Times, began to question the competence of this graduate of Agriculture and Law.
But the worst was yet to come.
Sometime in May, Idris was in Kano to launch the Police Technical Intel unit. In an address which could hardly have been missed had he decided to give an off-the-cuff pep talk instead, the IGP got stuck mid-speech.
The video of his embarrassing “transmission” encore went viral and some of his aides, after enjoying the man’s misery privately, decided to issue a muddled public statement several days later that the video was “doctored.”
They said mischief makers had tampered with the tape to portray the police chief as a moron incapable of addressing his men at a forum that was essentially an in-house event
Idris may not have the eloquence of a fowl with a broken beak, they said, but he has come too far in his career not to be able to pronounce “transmission” after half a dozen attempts or to stumble and falter through a speech of less than 1800 words. Some even recalled his outstanding tour of duty on foreign mission in Liberia and elsewhere and dismissed any suggestion of incompetence as unfair and unwarranted.
If the “transmission meltdown” was a painfully hilarious chapter in the controversial tenure of Idris as IGP, his cameo appearance in Benue a few months before that nailed his image as a tardy, if not irredeemably incompetent, cop.
A presidential directive was issued for him to relocate to Benue and rally his men in response to the horrific killings by herdsmen, which left at least 100 dead.
Idris was in Benue, all right; but it was not until three months later when President Muhammadu Buhari paid a belated condolence visit that he knew that the man he sent on a rescue mission did not wait in Benue till sunset of the first day before he left the bleeding state to its own fate.
This story, widely reported in the press after Buhari himself admitted publicly that he did not know the IGP made a cameo appearance in Benue, sparked public outrage and widespread calls for the IGP’s removal. But Buhari, being Buhari, just let the matter slide.
If that was the moment when public confidence in the IGP reached an all-time low, it was also the moment when Idris thought that the press, with Premium Times as arrowhead, had finally set him up against the big man in Aso Rock and will not rest until he falls.
The leaked letter to Osinbajo was the last straw and Premium Times the relentless nemesis he could find.
I don’t know how Idris Times would have reported the story, but Ogundipe was doing his job for Premium Times the way Tony Momoh did his job for Daily Times in 1980 when the Senate under Joseph Wayas summoned Momoh to disclose the source of his information over a so-called injurious article he wrote about the Senate.
In that case, the court of appeal ruled that Momoh was within his rights not to disclose the source of his information, the reason being that if journalists had to disclose their source of information the inevitable chill would make it practically impossible for them to discharge their constitutional obligation of holding government to account.
As Femi Falana (SAN), has eloquently said, tolerance of dissenting views is inconvenient not for Idris or for this government alone, but for virtually all previous ones going back to Buhari’s first incarnation as military head of state when Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson were jailed under Decree 4, which made independent thought and opinion a crime.
Why is Idris still holding Ogundipe, instigating a secret trial against him, freezing his account and treating him like a criminal? Why is the DSS keeping Jones Abiri (for over two dreadful years) for nothing other than for publishing inconvenient stories?
Instead of chasing shadows and inventing false enemies, the Police hierarchy owe Premium Times and indeed all media houses that published that leaked letter a debt of gratitude. And here, I’m not just talking about the grammatical errors starting from the “team of cracked operatives” in the first paragraph to the “crystal clear” conclusion which still needed “further interrogation” and over a dozen other howlers that make the transmission meltdown look like child’s play.
I’m deeply concerned that the entire content of the letter taken in its smattering, stuttering whole, gives a disturbing impression of the quality of intelligence, investigation and reporting of such a high-profile incident. If this is what we get at the top, what is happening in the rank and file?
Even though it’s supposed to be an interim report, the author was in such a terrible haste to work back from the answer to the problem, he could barely restrain himself from disguising the sham with low, crooked courtesies. The quality could not have been improved, even if the letter had been written in Nupe, his native language.
The pre-emptive publication of the letter confirms what we have suspected all along about the quality of the leadership of the Police hierarchy, prepares us for the worst outcome and challenges us to the work that must be done if we’re serious about having a truly competent and professional Force.
Long after Idris is gone, we’ll be grateful to Premium Times and Ogundipe for this wake-up call. And to borrow the memorable words of the IGP, I’m not “weeping up” sentiments.
Ishiekwene is the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview and member of the board of the Global Editors Network
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BREAKING: IG overhauls SARS, appoints new Police Commissioner as head
Sequel to the order given by the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo for the overhaul of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim idris, has ordered its immediate overhauling to address complaints and allegations of human rights violations against some of its personnel.
The Ag. President gave the order on Tuesday and the Police IG complied immediately.
A release signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, Ag. DCP Jimoh Moshood, and made available via the verified Facebook wall of the NPF states:
1 The Inspector General of Police in compliance with the Presidential directives has ordered the immediate overhauling of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) to address complaints and allegations on human rights violations against some of the personnel of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) from members of the public in some parts of the Country.
2. In the new arrangement, a new Commissioner of Police has been appointed as the overall head of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad nationwide.
3. The Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad previously under the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department (FCIID) is henceforth to operate under the Department of Operations, Force Headquarters Abuja. The Commissioner of Police (FSARS) is answerable to the Inspector General of Police through the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Department of Operations.
4. In observance of full compliance with the Presidential directives, the Federal Anti-Robbery Squad will be intelligence driven and will be restricted to the prevention and detection of Armed Robbery, kidnapping and the apprehension of offenders linked to the stated offences only.
5. New FSARS Commanders are being appointed for the Federal Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) across the country that will now exist and operate in the State and Zonal Commands under the Commissioner of Police (F-SARS) at the Force Headquarters, Abuja. A Federal SARS Commander of a Rank of Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) but not below Superintendent of Police (SP) will be in charge of FSARS in State and Zonal Commands across the Country.
6. All Commissioners of Police have been directed by the Inspector General of Police to comply with this directive with immediate effect and warn their personnel not to pose as SARS operatives. The IGP X-Squad and Monitoring Unit have been mandated to go round the Commands and Police Formations nationwide to ensure strict compliance with the Presidential directives and apprehend any erring police officer.
7. A new Standard Operational Guidelines and Procedures, and code of conduct for all FSARS personnel to ensure that the operations of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad is in strict adherence to the rule of law and with due regards to international human rights law and constitutionally guaranteed rights of suspects will be enforced in totality by the Commissioner of Police, FSARS. Other measures to be implemented by the Force in observance of full compliance with the presidential directives are as follows:
i. Human Rights Desk Officers for FSARS in every State to take complaints from the public and forward same to Force Headquarters, the officer will be answerable to the Commissioner of Police, FSARS at the Force Headquarters and not Commander FSARS in the States.
ii. Medical/Psychological evaluation of all FSARS personnel will be carried out immediately.
iii. Redesigning of new uniform with identity name tag for all FSARS personnel throughout the Country will be done immediately.
iv. Henceforth, FSARS personnel will not perform Stop and Search duties except on distress call to respond to armed robbery and kidnapping offences only.
8. The Force will be transparent, cooperate, and work cordially with the National Human Right Commission on the special panel that will conduct an investigation of the alleged unlawful activities of FSARS to address grievances from the public against the personnel of FSARS in compliance with the presidential directives.
9. Furthermore, a new training program to be organized by the Force in collaboration with some Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Local and International NGOs, and other Human Rights Organizations on core Police Duties, Observant of Human Rights and Handling, Care and Custody of Suspects have been directed by the Inspector General of Police for all Federal SARS personnel nationwide with immediate effect.
10. A committee of Senior Police officers, Technical Consultants, Human Rights/Civil Society organizations (CSOs) has been setup to review the activities of FSARS under the new arrangement. They are to pay unscheduled visits to FSARS formations across the country with particular attention to States with high complaints index, to assess facilities and situations in these States and submit report to the Inspector General of Police on regular basis.
11. However, aggrieved members of the public who have any complaint in the past or present of violation of their rights by any Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) personnel anywhere in the country are to report through any of the following channels for investigation and redress.
i. DIG, Department of Operations: 08037025670
ii. IGP X-SQUAD
0902 690 0729, 08078662130, 08174041000 – CALLS
0903 227 8905 – SMS
0903 562 1377 – whatsapp
Email: integrityxsquad@gmail.com
iii. IGP Monitoring Unit: igpmonotoringabj@yahoo.com, 08036242591
iv. Commissioner of Police, FSARS: 08033476852
v. FORCE PUBLIC COMPLAINT BUREAU
07056792065 Calls/SMS/whatsapp
08088450152 Calls/SMS/whatsapp
Email: bailisfree@gmail.com, pressforabuja@gmail.com
Twitter: @PoliceNG
www.facebook.com/ngpolice
vi. PUBLIC COMPLAINT RAPID RESPONSE UNIT (PCRRU)
08057000001 – Calls Only
08057000002 – Calls Only
08057000003 – SMS & whatsapp only
Twitter: @PoliceNG_PCRRU
www.facebook.com/PolicePCRRU
NGOs/CSOs
vii. sega@aliensmedialtd.com, 08027757359
viii. koredebello@caspertainment.agency, casperentertainment@gmail.com, 09051133035
ix. oluogunsakin@hotmail.com
x. g.writer2011@gmail.com, 07037887630
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NASS Siege: Presidency planning to ‘doctor’ IGP’s report to implicate us – Saraki, Ekweremadu
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, have accused the presidency of planning to influence the Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris, to manipulate the just released report on Tuesday’s siege at the National Assembly by masked operatives of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) to implicate them.
This was released in a joint statement signed and released by their media aides, Yusuph Olaniyonu and Uche Anichukwu on Friday.
They said the Presidency has constituted a closet panel to review the interim report submitted by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, and submit a final recommendation that implicate them and their colleagues.
Recall that the IGP had in a preliminary report to the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, accused the former DG, DSS, Lawal Daura of gross violation of Nigerian Constitution in Tuesday’s barricade of the National Assembly by DSS operatives.
Idris said Daura was working for some politicians for selfish interest, but did not name the accomplices, and that he (Daura) did not consult with other security agencies before ordering the siege.
The interim report questioned the validity of a security report that allegedly anticipated violence at the parliament.
Daura was sacked by Mr Osinbajo on Tuesday afternoon. He was immediately handed over to the police for further interrogation over unathorised deployment of DSS officers.
However, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) defended Daura’s action, saying its findings indicated that the disgraced spy chief was trying to prevent violence which PDP lawmakers allegedly planned at the National Assembly.
But IGP rejected this claim, saying Daura sent DSS personnel who “acted like mercenaries, hired to carry out executions.”
Saraki pushed back against the allegations at a press briefing Wednesday afternoon, describing it as an ‘insult’ on the collective intelligence of Nigerians.
He said it was baffling that he leaders of the parliament could be accused of being in bed with someone like Mr Daura, even when the parliament was also at the receiving end of the former spy chief’s unchecked recklessness
In their statement on Friday, Messrs Saraki and Ekweremadu alleged that the mandate of the closet panel being formed by the Federal Government is to turn facts on their head and blame the invasion of the National Assembly on the two leaders of the Red Chamber, “who will then be presented as having worked in tandem with the sacked Director-General of the DSS, Mallam Lawal Daura to stage the parliamentary security breach.”
“We have been reliably informed that instead of the Presidency to set up a public inquiry or judicial commission to probe last Tuesday’s early morning Invasion of the National Assembly as being demanded by the general public, they have commenced a process of manipulation and fabrication.
“The Presidency has set up a closet panel, which would work to a predetermined conclusion in which they will now claim that the Senate President and the Deputy Senate President worked in collusion with ex-DG of DSS, Lawal Daura to stage the invasion.
“They want to shield the fact that the previous night before the invasion and up till the early hours of Tuesday, there was a meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) senators and that the plan was for them to be moved in a coaster bus into the National Assembly complex later that morning for them to purportedly remove us and select a new Senate President and Deputy Senate President.
The duo said the plot of APC senators only failed because the media, particularly social media, Nigerians and international community responded very swiftly as some legislators who came into the complex were refused entry by gun-wielding, hooded security operatives.
“Now, they want to turn the facts on its head and blame us for their botched plot against democracy. We are hereby alerting all Nigerians and members of the international community that the present Nigerian government will stop at nothing to destroy, suppress and incapacitate the opposition. This is their new tactic and plot as we approach the period of the 2019 polls.
“We hereby reiterate our earlier position that the coup against democracy as represented by last week’s invasion must be probed through an independent judicial commission of inquiry which will produce a comprehensive report. We reject any manipulated and fabricated investigation,” they said.
The presiding officers added that they have also uncovered a sinister plot in which the government plans to use the anti-graft and security agencies to incarcerate them and some members of their families from next week, all in a bid to break their will and effect their removal.
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NASS siege: Police submits report on DSS probe to Osinbajo, makes shocking revelations [See letter]
The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris has submitted the report on the controversial invasion of the National Assembly to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.
The report which was obtained by TheNewsGuru.com on Thursday night indicted the sacked Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura.
In a report on the controversial incident prepared for Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday, Mr Idris said Mr Daura was working for some politicians for selfish interest, but did not name the accomplices.
He said Mr Daura did not consult with other security agencies before ordering the siege, and questioned the validity of a security report that allegedly anticipated a violence at the parliament.
Mr Daura was sacked by Mr Osinbajo on Tuesday afternoon. He was immediately handed over to the police for further interrogation, after unathorised deployment of SSS officers that sparked nationwide outrage and condemnation.
Mr Idris said the police have been interrogating Mr Daura in Garki, Abuja, since he was arrested.
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Count Police out of NASS siege, IGP tells Osinbajo
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has operatives of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) were not involved in the siege on the National Assembly (NASS) by security operatives on Tuesday.
The IGP said this on Tuesday when he met with the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo shortly after the invasion at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said the standoff at the NASS complex reached him as a surprise, adding that the police would soon issue a statement in relation to the impasse.
“Obviously, like I said, I have not got a detailed brief on that. In fact we are going to issue a (press) release (on that),’’ he said.
Recall that Osinbajo had on Tuesday sacked the Director General of the State Security Service (SSS), Lawal Daura, with immediate effect, over Tuesday’s invasion of the premises of the National Assembly by security operatives.
Osinbajo condemned the unauthorised standoff at the National Assembly complex, describing it as “a gross violation of constitutional order, rule of law and all acceptable notions of law and order’’.
He said, the “unlawful act, which was done without the knowledge of the Presidency, is condemnable and completely unacceptable.’’
The acting president, therefore, assured Nigerians that all persons within the law enforcement apparatus, who participated in “this travesty’’ would be identified and subjected to appropriate disciplinary action.
The sacked SSS boss had, along with the IGP and the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, earlier met behind closed doors with the acting president.
The Tuesday siege was mainly carried out by the DSS and lasted from the early hours of Tuesday till afternoon. The siege was lifted about an hour after the DG was sacked from office.
At the start of the siege, everyone, including lawmakers, was prevented from entering the National Assembly. However, lawmakers were later allowed in while journalists and staff of the assembly were barred.
The siege is believed to have been targeted at Senate President Bukola Saraki to allow his removal from office while senators opposed to him would be allowed in.
That move appeared to have been abandoned following public outcry. Most Nigerians including leaders of opposition parties condemned the actions of the security agencies.
The lawmakers have since gained entry to the National Assembly.
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Offa robbery : Police invitation a mere political game – Saraki
The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki has described his second invitation by the police to report to a station in Guzape over Offa robbery investigation as a mere political game.
Saraki in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, stated that he has it on good authority that the Police had already decided on the suspects to arraign in court in Ilorin, Kwara State on Wednesday based on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mohammed U.E. and that the turn around to invite him was a ploy aimed at scoring cheap political points.
Full text of the statement: Saraki and Idris “I have been reliably informed that the police invitation was planned by IG as a ploy to stop an alleged plan by some Senators and House of Representatives members from defecting from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“It was also said that if I was detained between Tuesday and Wednesday, that will abort the so-called defection plan.
“While I continue to maintain that the issue of my position on the 2019 elections is not a personal decision for me alone to make, it should be noted that all these concoctions and evil plot cannot deter me. Those behind this fresh assault will fail as I have nothing to do with the robbery incident or any criminal matter for that matter.
“I am aware that following a request made by the Police on June 13, 2018 to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) of the Federation had written a legal advice dated June 22, 2018, in which he stated on page 5, paragraph (f) that “For the Senate President and the Kwara State Governor, this office is unable to establish from the evidence in the interim report a nexus between the alleged office and the suspects”.
“The Police have obviously corrupted and politicized their investigations into the Offa robbery incident. They have turned it into an instrument for the party in power to suppress perceived opponents, witch-hunt issue for blackmailing people from freely choosing which platform on which they want to pursue their ambition and a matter for harassing the people whose exit from APC would harm the chances of the party in the forthcoming elections. ”
I want to make it apparent that I have no hand in either the robbery incident or any criminal acitivity. The Police in their haste to embarrass me sent the invitation to me at 8pm and requested that I report to the station by 8am tomorrow morning. This obviously demonstrated their desperation as I do not see why they are now in a hurry.
“They also stated in today’s letter that because in my response of June 7, 2018 to their own letter written on June 4, 2018, I stated that I was responding simply to the contents of the letter and that the full text of the statement made by the arrested suspects which they claimed indicted me was not made available to me, they were now including the suspects statements in the current letter. Yet, instead of including the suspects’ statements, they only attached two copies of my own letter to the invitation. No suspects statement was made available.
“This plot aimed at compelling me and my associates to stay in a party where members are criminalised without just cause, where injustice is perpetrated at the highest level and where there is no respect for constitutionalism is an exercise in futility and it will fail.
“Once again, my confidence in God and our judicial system remains intact and unshaken. The truth shall also prevail in this case”, he stated.