Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja
Former Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, has debunked media reports that he was arrested, drilled and detained by the police in Abuja on Tuesday.
Yari said he was at the Force Headquarters, Abuja on Tuesday, to honour an invitation extended to him by the police authorities over issues he did not disclose.
Reports had filtered in that the former governor was arrested, interrogated and detained by the police over some of his utterances in recent past.
But in a statement on Wednesday by his media aide, Mayowa Oluwabiyi, the ex-governor blamed “mischief-makers” for peddling fake news about his visit to the police.
The media aide said contrary to the false report about his alleged detention, Yari was allowed to go home same day after his interaction with the police authorities.
The statement said, “Our attention has been drawn to fake news being circulated that former chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari was arrested, detained for several hours at the force headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
“The authorities of the police sent an invitation to the former governor of Zamfara state, and as a law abiding citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he swiftly went to honour the invitation by the police.
“But obviously, the author of the fake news and their sponsors tried to twist the mere invitation to arrest, drill and other unpalatable words to undermine the former governor.
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“Indeed, the authors further alleged that the former governor was brought to the Force headquarters and vigorously drilled over his reported utterances he made a few days back during a meeting held in his home village of Talata-Mafara in Zamfara State.
“His Excellency Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari as a law abiding citizen and a former governor has never and will never breach the law of the land”.
The ex governor had met with some leaders of the Zamfara state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at his Talata-Mafara country home a few days ago.
Speaking in his capacity as the leader of the APC in the state, Yari had declared at the meeting that APC chapter in the state would resist any unlawful arrest, harassment and intimidation of its members by anybody.
Reasons for police invitation of the former governor could not be readily established as of the time of filing this report.
However, the statement by his media aide blamed “mischief makers and detractors” for labouring day and night to link the ex governor to the security challenges that plagued the state under his watch.
“Contrary to the falsehood being peddled, it is on record how the former governor tackled the challenges of insecurity while in office.
“Though the challenges are not peculiar to Zamfara alone, mischief makers and detractors laboured day and night to link the challenges to his administration.
Today, sadly, Yari has been vindicated”, the statement said.
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