• Police desperate to impress Nigerians –Govt

From Molly Kilete, Abuja

The investigation panel set up by Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, to investigate electoral violence in the December 10 rerun elections in Rivers, yesterday, said it recovered N111 million from 23 electoral officers posted to the state.

The oanel also said 20 of the officers got N15 million each, while the remaining three got N20 million each.

Committee Chairman, Damian Okoro, who made this known when he presented the report to the IGP, alleged the money came from the coffers of Rivers State Government.

Okoro said his committee’s investigation further revealed that the state government spent N360 million to electoral offices posted to the state to work in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The chairman, while attributing the violence that marred the elections that led to the killings of several persons, including two police officers due to the failure of leadership and follower ship, said: “There are some cases of misconduct on the part of some electoral officers and law enforcement agents who unfortunately allowed themselves to be compromised in their line of duties.

“The sum of N111,300 million was recovered from 23 INEC electoral officers.

“Out of the N360 million spent by the state government, 20 officers in the rank of coordinators got N15 million each, while three electoral officers (EO), got N20 million each and it was discovered that all the monies came from the state government,” he said.

Okoro, who told the IGP that three of the electoral officers who met with Governor Wike and collected their own share of the loot were physically present at the event and that journalists would interview them after his presentation, however, sang a different tune when newsmen approached him to identify the suspects for interview.

Rather than keeping to his promises, he said: “Whatever questions you have for the three suspects should be directed at me; I will answer all your questions. We cannot allow you to interview them.”

Receiving the report,  the IGP commended the committee for a job well done and said the police would do everything in its powers to end electoral violence in the country. He said a situation where some individuals had turned elections into a do-or-die affair would no longer be tolerated by the police.

He said: “All those arrested are going to be prosecuted. We are going to send the report of the committee to the Attorney General of the Federation as the chief law officer. The source of the money, from the confession of those who were arrested, was said to have come from Rivers state government and I can assure you that the money is going to be returned to government treasury because these are recoveries, on the basis of an investigation conducted.”

  Asked to reply to Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike’s comments describing the committee as biased and that he had no confidence in it, the IGP said: “We are in a democracy and everybody has the right of speech. It is free speech; anybody can wake up any day and say anything. But, what I am saying is that you have to go through most of these investigation report and arrive at where we are.

“It was a very transparent and open investigation. We wrote to the governor, they went to meet him, but, in his own wisdom, he refused to cooperate and you know you cannot force him because it is democracy and we believe that. None of us are politicians. So, we call on Nigerians to have faith in this panel and take this as part of the process in refining the electoral process in Nigeria.

“We insist the process is transparent and who ever has been indicted weather police officers, INEC officers would be made to face the law.

“As you can see, police officers have been indicted, INEC officers have been indicted, so, isolating the governor, I think you are not doing a service to the activities of this panel. We have to give the kudos for taking such bold steps; to correct even within the police because we are correcting ourselves.

“So, I want Nigerians to look at it as a corrective panel and, if you see the level of indictment, it cuts across board –from politicians, police, INEC and these are government agencies.” 

In his response, Wike, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, described the IGP’s statement as patently false, politically motivated and cooked up to justify the violence visited on the people of the state by the police during the rerun. 

“This IGP and his team are neck deep in crime. This statement credited to the Police High Command is aimed at diverting attention from its loss of credibility, after its attempt to assassinate governor Nyesom Wike failed woefully.

“The press conference addressed by the IGP investigative panel, headed by Okoro and the IGP is yet, another fictional account by a Police Force that has lost its moral base as it is intent on reinventing itself through falsehood. 

“The press conference by the police high command is a hasty desperate attempt to circumvent the judicial process as governor Wike has already challenged the legality of the IGP investigative panel at the Federal High Court. 

“For the avoidance of doubt, governor Wike did not spend N360 million to rig the  rerun legislative elections.  The people of Rivers overwhelmingly voted the PDP across the state because of the outstanding performance of Wike since May 29, 2015.

“The drama at the press conference revealed the script being acted by the police high command, which is now obviously an arm of the All Progressives Congress  (APC).

“Okoro claimed that three INEC officials who allegedly met with Governor Wike  would be interviewed by journalists at the event.  The IGP hatchet man after his false press statement refused to allow the promised interview to take place because  he knew that the truth would be revealed. 

“The Nigerian Police played an inglorious role during the December 10, 2016 rerun, helping the APC to rig elections in the few constituencies were they were declared winner.  Video evidence in the public domain proved that the police killed, maimed, snatched result sheets and ballot boxes as they assisted the APC through the ill-fated rerun elections. 

“On December 12, 2016, the Rivers SARS Commander, Mr. Akin Fakorede was caught on camera manhandling electoral officials as he sought to rig the Rivers East Senatorial District in favour of the APC at the senatorial district collation centre. 

“Prior to the rerun legislative elections, the Rivers State APC fake INEC result sheets printing syndicate was bursted and the lead printer, Atonyesia Peterside arrested. The Police has since swept the matter under the carpet, even though majority of the fake result sheets were used…”

on December 10, 2016 by APC and pliant INEC officials under police protection. 

“Even in concocting falsehood, the police high command failed to display intelligence. A simple poser to the police high command: Where did the so-called electoral officials save the monies that they displayed before journalists two months after they allegedly received bribe? How come no funds where spent by the said officials under the present circumstances?

“This entire drama is aimed at helping the Rivers APC at the election tribunal as the police high command did during the state governorship election tribunal at Abuja. 

“Nigerians  are not deceived by the security arm of the APC. The police high command as presently constituted will not escape the long arm of the law as they are complicit in the violence unleashed on rivers people during the rerun legislative elections. 

“Countless false press conferences and false press statements will not improve the damaged image of the Nigerian Police in relation to their ignoble role during the December 10, 2016 rerun elections. A final poser to the police high command: Why did the police refuse to tell the world about the persons who killed DSP Alkali?”