The police on Thursday denied allegations that it invited
for questioning the representative of Ogun East
 |
| IGP Idris Ibrahim |
Rather, the police said Kashamu was invited over allegations
of threat to life, a complaint lodged against him by a member of the House of
Representatives, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu.
This was made known on Thursday by the Inspector-General of
Police, Ibrahim Idris, in his written address to a counter-affidavit filed in a
fundamental rights enforcement suit by Kashamu.
It was marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/647/2016.
Idris is the 1st respondent in the suit.
While describing the suit as speculative and an attempt by
Kashamu to among others restrain the police from performing its statutory
responsibilities of investigating criminal allegations against him, Idris urged
the court to dismiss the suit as it was capable of sending wrong signals.
He said in the counter-affidavit: “Both the applicant and
the 3rd respondent (Adebutu) have made allegations of crime against each other
and it is the duty of the 1st respondent (IGP) to investigate and make
findings. This court cannot restrain the 1st respondent from investigating one
and leaving the other on the speculation and imagination of the applicant that
he will be arrested and transported to America, more so, when the 3rd
respondent has not made such allegation against the applicant.
“We
urge this court to dismiss the suit as being speculative and portends danger
for the criminal justice in Nigeria if persons alleged of committing crime as
serious as attempted assassination are shielded from investigation on mere
conjecture as being sought in this case. This will breed anarchy and impunity
in Nigeria where the government is doing everything to eliminate cases of
politically-motivated assassination.
“This court cannot assume the
criminal investigative power of the police to investigate the allegations made
against each other in exhibits P1 and P2 (the petitions by Adebutu and Kashamu
to the police). It is after the police have performed this role that the court
will be called upon to adjudicate on the matter.”
Adebutu had in his petition dated
August 22 alleged among others that Kashamu led about 50 thugs to attack him
and almost killed him a night before the botched national convention of the
Peoples Democratic Party in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.
Both of them belong to different
factions of the PDP.
Kashamu, in his counter-petition
dated August 26, denied Adebutu’s allegation, accusing him of being encouraged
to smear his image by some chieftains of the PDP in the South West.
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