Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki
Apparently irked by persistent arrests of some government officials by security agencies suspected to be instigated by some opposition politicians, Governor David Umahi wednesday said the state would no longer remain silent in view of the unprovoked arrests.
Umahi while receiving the new Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of zone 6, Calabar, Tilli Abubakar, described as alarming the rate in which opposition politicians influence arrest and transfer of cases from the state to Abuja and Calabar respectively with sole aim of intimidating the people of the state and browbeating them to submission.
He said his administration has uncovered plots by the opposition to embark on random arrests of perceived government strongmen with the sole purpose of transferring them to the Force Headquarters where they
would be detained till the elections are over.
He warned that henceforth, his administration would no longer allow such brazen intimidation of the law abiding citizens of the state by opposition politicians whom he described as desperate politicians.
“We don’t like our people being arrested here and taken to Abuja and Calabar respectively over various flimsy cases, we have all the police establishments in the state, why should a matter that is happening in a police post be sent directly to the Commissioner of Police without going through the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area?
“We will resist this type of wickedness and intimidation, any crime that is committed here should be investigated in the place the crime was committed. We are not against the police doing their job but our
people have died in this type of incessant arrests and transfer to Abuja and Calabar.
“We have had cases of these people dying in accident on their way to Abuja and in some cases, assassins have disguised themselves as policemen and army to come and arrest our people and get them killed on the way.
“We will not allow it to happen again in the state. Politicians thinking of coming to arrest my people and keep them away during election will be resisted. We will not accept this intimidation. If they come with 500 policemen, we will raise over 5,000 men to resist them.â€
The governor also appealed to the AIG to use his position to put to an end the lingering crisis between some parts of the state and Cross River State by establishing a boarder command to take care of
the crisis in the affected regions.
Responding, the AIG, Tilli
Abubakar, described Umahi as the most police friendly governor in the country and lauded his support towards the police force in the state and the country in general.
He commended the governor for rebuilding the state headquarters of the police, adding “the gate of police headquarters is more beautiful than the gate of the government house. The governor is the most security
conscious governor in the country. He built the most expensive gate for the command and he is doing everything good to assist the police and carries every security agencies along in the discharge of his official duties.â€
