The alleged assassination attempt on Senator
Dino Melaye has taken another dimension as the Inspector General of Police (IGP),
Mr. Ibrahim Idris, has directed the Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Wilson
Inalegwu, to bring the administrator of Ijumu Local Government area of Kogi
State, Honorable Taofiq Isah to Abuja, including his case file and weapons
recovered from his house at Odokoro.
Inalegwu, when contacted on phone, said the case
was currently being handled by the force headquarters. He noted he was no
longer in charge of the case.
Inalegwu said: "Officers from Abuja were in the state, because the
case is being handled by them. It’s no longer my case. I really don't want to
comment on that case because it is no longer in my jurisdiction."
The directive from the IGP might not be
unconnected with the press statement
issued by the administrator that he was not arrested by the police in
connection with Melaye’s assassination attempt.
Isah was said to have been arrested last week
and taken to Abuja Police Force Headquarter for interrogation. But the quick
intervention of Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, led to Isah getting a
bail. Isah has, however, denied ever been arrested by the police or any other
security agency.
In a related development, Kogi State Governor,
Bello, yesterday hit back at Senator Joseph Waku over claims by the ACF
Chieftain that the Governor had a hand
in the alleged assassination attempt on Melaye. Bellow said that Waku had not
surprised Nigerians who "see him as a clownish alarmist."
The Governor who spoke through his Director General on Media and
Publicity, Kingsley Fanwo in Lokoja at the weekend, said he won't succumb to efforts at
distracting his administration from the " noble new direction agenda aimed
at repositioning the state and recovering it from the ruins of the past."
Fanwo said: "Waku should not see Kogi as
his fishing point in his efforts at being heard after decades of obliviousness
and irrelevance. He should not misrepresent the highly respected Arewa
Consultative Forum, an organization that is committed to the development and
unity of the Northern Region of Nigeria.
"His assertion that the North will hold the
Governor responsible if anything happens to Dino is reckless, unsustainable,
uncharitable and indefensible. Waku should apologize to the people of Kogi
State for his wanton allegations and also to the Arewa Consultative Forum for
allowing his uninformed position embarrass the noble organization.
" Melaye's alleged attack is currently been
investigated by the police. Waku should explain to Nigerians the reasons behind
his desperation to pin the allegation on the Governor. By this act, Waku
has shown how low he has gone over the years in his business of courting
unnecessary controversies.
" Melaye knows the implications of alleging
that Governor Yahaya Bello was behind the attacks in him. He won't toe that
line because that will be too hot for him to handle. Governor Yahaya Bello has
made criminality difficult in Kogi State. He abhors criminality and would not condone
any act of brigandage either against Melaye or by Melaye as the Chief Security
Officer of the State."
Meanwhile, the Administrator of Ijumu Local
Government, Alhaji Taufiq Isa, through a press statement signed by ALGON media
consultant, Abubakar Sulaiman, has called on Melaye to desist from his
deliberate attempt to smear his hard earned reputation through a stage-managed
assassination drama.
The council boss said Melaye in his usual manner
of casting aspersions on constituted authority, planned and executed his
assassination attempt in order to cause chaos among the peace loving people of
Okun land.
The statement reads in part: "There was no
time Taufiq Isa sent anybody to attack Senator Dino Melaye. The ALGON chairman
sees his action as malicious and capable of misleading and causing disaffection
among his constituents. Senator Dino should take cognizance of national
security and that of the people of the state as against his personal and
political sentiments."
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