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Tag: Melaye

  • Melaye may be charged with illegal possession of firearms

    The Police have said Senator Dino Melaye may be charged with illegal possession of firearms. Force Headquarters spokesman, Mr. Jimoh Moshood, an Assistant Superintendent, said the senator may face other charges apart from criminal conspiracy and unlawful possession of prohibited firearms. But he gave no further details.

    His words: “Outside the charge of conspiracy and unlawful possession of prohibited firearms, it is very likely that there are other sundry offences relating to violent crimes that he is going to be charged with.

    “I may not be able to tell you the precise charges because it is important to ensure that we don’t jeopardize the investigation.”

    He said that while the police recognise the authority of the Senate, they will not shirk their own constitutional responsibility of investigating and/or prosecuting anyone, including high-profile personalities.

    He said: “by and large, we want to impress it on distinguished members of the Senate that the Nigeria Police Force holds the Senate and its leadership in high esteem.

    “We wish to impress on every citizen, the need to allow the rule of law and for them not to personalise and trivialise criminal matters.

    “There is need to allow the rule of law and justice and to allow the court’s judgement to prevail.”

    Asked when Melaye might be formally charged to court,  Moshood said: “I am not in a position to give you that information.

    “However, as I have earlier said, he is going to be promptly charged to court without further delay.”

  • Melaye and his antics

    Few days ago, Nigerians were forced to witness, yet Few days ago, Nigerians were forced to witness, yet another drama scripted and acted by Senator Dino Melaye representing Kogi West when he jumped down from a moving police vehicle after presenting himself to the police for interrogation over some grievous allegations levelled against him.

    While some Nigerians watched the drama with keen interest, many viewed it as nothing new, considering the ‘uncivilised’ manner and way some law makers in Nigeria behaved in recent times.

    Others, however, saw the drama as embarrassing, disgraceful and irresponsible, especially from a supposed distinguished lawmaker who ought to be a shining example to the society.

    Melaye has, hitherto, been having a running battle with the Nigeria Police Force over the allegations of funding some thugs to destabilise the country.

    The key leader of the suspected thugs, KABIRU SAIDU a.k.a OSAMA, told the police after he was arrested that Melaye handed over a bag containing one AK47 rifle, 2 Pump Action guns and N430, 000 cash to share with his boys.

    To get his own side of the story, “the Nigeria Police Force sent a letter of invitation dated and acknowledged on March 2, 2018, addressed to the Senate President, informing and requesting him to release Senator Dino Melaye to report to the Police on March 7, 2018, to answer to criminal offences of conspiracy and unlawful possession of prohibited firearms levelled against him.

    “Another separate letter was equally written in this regard to enable the Police investigation team to carry out a discreet and thorough investigation into the case. But Dino Melaye refused to honour the invitations,” the police said.

    The questions thus are: Why did Melaye refuse to honour the invitation by the police to prove his innocence on the allegation? Is he above the law? Does he enjoy immunity from invitation by the law enforcement agencies? And most importantly, why is he running from his home state?

    It beats one’s imagination that a ‘distinguished’ Senator of the most populous nation in Africa can bring down himself to behave in such a degrading manner by attempting to jump down from a moving police vehicle.

    It must be made clear that, in the provision of our constitution, no Senator or any law maker for that matter, enjoys immunity from arrest and prosecution. Even the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has been in and out of the courts and has never at any point attempted to decline or resist invitation.

    It is worrisome that it is only in Nigeria that law makers can flagrantly refuse to obey court orders or deliberately evade invitation to make some clarifications to agencies of government.

    For Senator Melaye to go to the extent of attempting to jump from a moving police vehicle despite the risk involved, shows something is fishy somewhere. The nagging question again is: What is Melaye running from his home state – his constituency?

    While some argue that the Senator will not be safe when facing trial in his home state because of his face-off with the governor, the question here is: Does a governor have the right to prevent a Senator from visiting or going to his home state?

    If at all, Senator Melaye feels unsafe to go to his home state, he can apply for more security cover to ensure his adequate protection. In fact, if Melaye is loved by members of his constituency, they can provide security cover for him.

    On the other hand, one wonders why Melaye is afraid to go and prove his innocence on the weighty allegations against him.

    It is natural that when one is accused of any wrong doing, the first and immediate step is to look for every opportunity to state one’s side of the story prove the accusers wrong and clear his name.

    One is therefore forced to ask, what is Melaye running away from? Are his hands stained with blood and, hence, already feels guilty?

    • Continued online www.staging.thenationonlineng.net

  • Melaye: Senate orders IGP to appear Wednesday

    The Senate on Thursday ordered the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to appear before it at 11:00 a.m. next Wednesday and explain why Senator Dino Melaye was handcuffed by policemen who arrested him on Tuesday.

    Ibrahim was also expected to answer questions on the insecurity and its attendant killings in different parts of the country.

    The IGP, who was summoned by the lawmakers on Wednesday, failed to show up, as he was said to have accompanied President Muhammadu Buhari to Bauchi on official engagement.

    Announcing the inability of Ibrahim to honour the invitation, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Abu Ibrahim, said the IGP had mandated the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of Operations to stand him for him.

    But the senators were piqued by Senator Ibrahim’s statement, with many of them accusing the IGP of being disrespectful to the Senate.

    The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, reminded Senator Ibrahim that it was the IGP that the Senate summoned through a resolution and not the DIG.

    Deputy Senate Leader, Bala Ibn Na ‘Allah, urged members not to listen to any other person other than the IGP.

     

  • Senate adjourns plenary in solidarity with Melaye

    Senators on Wednesday resolved to adjourn plenary in solidarity with the senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, who is being held by the police in Abuja.

    The upper chamber also resolved to invite the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to explain the circumstances that led to the arrest and detention of Melaye.

    The IGP is expected to appear before the Senate in plenary on Thursday to explain alleged inhuman treatment meted to the senato

    Photographs of Melaye in handcuff on his hospital bed went viral on the internet on Wednesday.

    Senators took turns to condemn what they described as “denigration and calculated onslaught against the Senate.”

    Senator Samuel Anyanwu (Imo East) drew the attention of his colleagues to the arrest, detention and hospitalization of Melaye allegedly on the orders of the police.

    Anyanwu, who came under order of privilege, told the Senate that he was aware that Melaye was being treated “like a common criminal.”

    He said: “When one of us has been belated, all of us have been belated. One of us is currently being treated like a common criminal. My heart is bleeding. I feel that we have all lost the essence of our being in the Senate and the essence of being called senators.

    “Yesterday (Tuesday), I in the company of two other senators went to see Senator Melaye at the National Hospital. Can you imagine Mr. President that we were not allowed to see our colleague. It was unbelievable and unimaginable to ever imagine that a day will come when senators will not be allowed to see their colleague who is in chains in the hospital.

    “Senator Peter Nwaoboshi is held by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and nobody is allowed to see him. The Senate should immediately take up the matter to ensure that Melaye does not continue to suffer this orchestrated dehumanizing and inhuman treatment. Can’t the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria be respected?

    “If a serving senator is dehumanized in this manner, then there is no hope for Nigeria. I am not surprised that some of us have been marked by the EFCC and other security agencies. It is not about Dino it is about any of us.”

     

  • Saraki leads senators on visit to Melaye at hospital

    President of the Senate; Dr. Bukola Saraki was Wednesday allowed to see embattled Senator Dino Melaye who was admitted to the National Hospital, Abuja on Tuesday.

    Saraki who stormed the hospital with an entourage of about 40 senators, was allowed to go into the trauma centre where Melaye was being given medical attention.

    Only eight of the about 40 senators were allowed to accompany Saraki to the ward, while others were made to wait in the hospital’s conference hall.

    The President of the Senate, who came out of the ward after spending about 20 minutes with Melaye, said the embattled lawmaker was in stable condition but that he still required medical attention.

    Saraki however said the hand cuffs in which Melaye was taken to the hospital by the police Tuesday night had been taken off.

    Melaye was handcuffed and taken away on stretcher from Zankli Hospital, Abuja to the National Hospital on Tuesday night.

    He had gone to the private hospital to get treatment after an ordeal with the police team that attempted to take him from Abuja to a court in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital for alleged criminal charges.

    The police has charged the lawmaker with gun running and monetary inducement linking him to some political thugs who the police said had confessed to having been sponsored by the Kogi West senator.

    The Senate had, at the plenary session earlier in the day, bemoaned the harsh treatment meted out to Melaye by the police. The lawmakers were forced to adjourned plenary to enable them visit the embattled senator in hospital.

    The first batch of four senators that went to visit Melaye earlier in the day was denied access to the lawmakers and had to report back to the Senate leadership.

    Senator Melaye has been having a running battle with the governor of his home state, Yahaya Bello over political differences.

    Melaye had raised the alarm a few weeks ago to draw public attention to the importation of weapons and military hardware into the country by Governor Bello.

    The embattled senator had pointed out that there was no End User Certificate from the office of the National Security Adviser to certify the imported security items.

    A few days after the senator had raised the alarm, marauders stormed some communities in Kogi East, killing, maiming innocent villagers and setting houses ablaze.

    Read Also: Melaye did not jump out of vehicle, says aide

  • How Melaye escaped from custody – Police

    The Nigeria Police Force on Tuesday explained how the Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Dino Melaye, escaped from its custody.

    The police said Melaye jumped out of a police vehicle through the window after some hoodlums in two Toyota Hilux vehicles blocked the police vehicle conveying the Senator to Kogi State.

    The police said the senator was rescued from policemen by the hoodlums and taken to an unknown destination.

    The incident took place around Area 1 Roundabout in Abuja.

    The Force Spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, disclosed these in a statement in Abuja.

    The statement reads: “At about 1200Hrs of today (Tuesday) Sen. Dino Melaye while in lawful custody of the Nigeria Police Force and being taken for arraignment in Federal High Court, Lokoja, from Abuja, escaped from lawful custody when hoodlums and miscreants in two Toyota Hilux Vehicles blocked the police vehicle conveying Senator Dino Melaye around Area 1 Round About, Abuja.

    “In the process, the senator jumped out of the police vehicle through the window and was rescued from the policemen by hoodlums and miscreants to an unknown destination.

    “The police team re-enforced and trailed Senator Dino Melaye to Zankli Hospital, Abuja, where he was re-arrested.”

    The police said Melaye would be arraigned in court without further delay, adding that one of the Toyota Hilux vehicles used by the hoodlums and miscreants in aiding the senator’s escape has been recovered by the police investigation team.

    Moshood said the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has directed a thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to Melaye’s escape from lawful custody.

     

  • Police, Melaye in arrest drama

    Following the arrest of the embattled senator representing Kogi West senatorial district, Dino Melaye on Tuesday, another attempt by the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) to take him to Lokoja, Kogi State, was foiled by passersby in Abuja.

    Melaye, who was initially arrested and detained at the SARS facility along the Area 1 Expressway, Abuja, was reportedly told by the policemen that he was being taken to court.

    It was gathered that the senator agreed to go to court with the armed policemen, but a scuffle reportedly ensued between the lawmaker and the policemen.

    The scuffle followed Melaye’s attempt to resist being driven to Kogi State by the policemen, consequent upon which the senator reportedly raised the alarm which attracted some passersby.

    An eyewitness said people’s attention was drawn to the scuffle in the moving vehicle and people quickly milled around the vehicle.

    The policemen later abandoned the lawmaker and drove off.

    The senator was said to have gone to Zankli Hospital in Lokoja.

    He was said to be receiving medical treatment at the time of filing this report.

  • IGP keeps mum on Melaye, commissions police estate

    The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, on Tuesday refused to comment on the ongoing drama between the Nigeria Police Force and the Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Dino Melaye.

    The forum was the commissioning of block of flats for police personnel at Muhammadu Buhari Housing Estate in Mbora, Abuja.

    The Chairman of Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Abu Ibrahim, also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to invest more on internal security.

    The senator while decrying the poor state of police personnel said the Force would overcome its challenges if the personnel are comfortable.

    On the drama between the police and Melaye, the IGP said: “No, I can’t comment on him because we are not here for that purpose.”

    On the challenges confronting the Force, Senator Ibrahim said: “I think the major problem of security in Nigeria is not external security but internal security.

    “I have been to Benue where I spent three days and I have also been to Zamfara where I spent two days.  I visited various local government areas and I am convinced that the only way to solve the internal security problem in Nigeria is by making the police comfortable.”

    The lawmaker also argued that 50 percent of the $1billion recently approved for security should be spent on the police.

    He added: “We are spending $1billion on security but as far as I am concerned, that money should be spent on the police because we don’t have problem of external security.

    “Our neighbours are our friends. We have no quarrel with Chad, Niger, Cameroon and other West African countries. So we need not spend money on external security.”

     

  • Police fail to parade Melaye

    Police on Tuesday failed to parade the embattled Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, at the Kogi State Police Command.

    The Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, Mr. Aremu Adeniran, who addressed journalists in Lokoja, however confirmed that Melaye was in police custody in Abuja.

    He said the senator would be arraigned in court at the end of investigation.

    He said Melaye surrendered himself to the police on Tuesday morning.

    The embattled senator was declared wanted by the police following his alleged refusal to honour police invitation to defend allegations of illegal arms possession levelled against him by two suspected criminals, Kabiru Saidu (Osama) and Nuhu Salisu (Small).

    The duo were paraded by the police in Lokoja.

     

     

     

  • Melaye set to surrender to Police

    Senator Dino Melaye has announced his resolve to surrender to the Police today.

    Melaye who represents Kogi West senatorial district in the National Assembly made the announcement via his Twitter handle around 7:11am on Tuesday.

    The post reads: “I will make myself available to the police today. My resolve to speak the truth and defend the poor masses of NIGERIA is Total. We shall overcome!!!

    It is however unclear whether the Senator would surrender himself to the Kogi State Police Command in Lokoja or the Force Headquarters in Abuja.

    The police had laid seige to his residence in Abuja on Monday after he was stopped from travelling to Morroco by  personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service.

    His tweet was later followed by another one which was posted around 8:04am.

    It reads: “A man without arm, no security yet you mobilise 150 policemen to invite him. And those who committed Treason are free. We shall not be intimidated or cowed. Struggle continue.”