Last Wednesday, Senate President Bukola Saraki raised the alarm that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, was planning to implicate him. He told his colleagues, while presiding over plenary, that Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State hinted him, the previous night, that the IGP had ordered the transfer of a group of suspected cultists, who he claimed were about to be prosecuted under the state law on the advice of the Ministry of Justice, to Abuja.
From the information that he had, and, perhaps, feedback from certain loyalists within the Police, he was almost sure that the suspected killers/cultists were being ferried to Abuja with the primary aim of doctoring their initial statements and probably giving the senate president the ‘Melaye’ treatment.
Though a few commentators interpreted Saraki’s pre-emptive stance, as well as the purported panic bell by his governor godson as likely pointers to some distasteful buried facts surrounding the suspects and their initial confessions on the strings of killings in Kwara State, one may, however, be right to say that the Number 3 citizen was only acting, based on the mood of the country in the last few weeks.
It would have been politically naïve to assume that the contentious transfer directive was given genuinely in the pursuit of justice for the families of victims, especially at a time something close to this same script had played out in Kogi State, in the case of Senator Dino Melaye.
Embattled Melaye had been at the center of a dangerous arrest and rearrest Police drama, which culminated in his being arraigned “for criminal conspiracy, causing damage to government property, attempted suicide and escape from lawful custody.” Even a simpleton would link his ordeal, whether deserved or not, to his lingering ‘dirty’ face-off with Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State on allegations and counter-allegations bearing on attempted assassination and false information.
Melaye may be a temporarily free man today, but the battle with the Police, which many of his kinsmen have described as a carefully designed plan, being executed by the Police, in collaboration with Bello, and, probably, under the supervision of some higher authorities, to cage Melaye against all odds, almost cost the senator his life. And no one in his right senses, not even the almighty Saraki, would want to see the end of the latest Police action, when the preamble looks exactly the same as what landed Dino in ‘hot soup’.
Owing to the enormity of the Senate President’s tactical declaration, the upper chamber of the National Assembly resolved that a delegation, consisting of its leadership, and others, mostly former governors, should meet with President Muhammadu Buhari in a bid to avoid what Saraki described as desperate actions aimed at undermining democracy.
Many of the legislators might have actually been found wanting in terms of all what could be summed up under Nigeria’s definition of corruption, but an attempt to use this as a foundation for backing insolence and disregard for laid down rules by those who should know better would be a call for anarchy
THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA
This step, which could, ordinarily, be regarded as one in the right direction, I’m afraid, may be a futile one, particularly considering the fact that the romance between the 8th Senate and the Buhari government had been anything but warm since the beginning of this administration. It would, therefore, seem, from readers’ feedback, that the leaders of the National Assembly might only be reporting a supposedly visible enemy to another veiled but potentially dangerous enemy.
I know, at this point, some loyalists of the President would be quick to say that his integrity would not allow him to go against the law, or hurt his love for our dear country, Nigeria, in his intervention. But we must remind ourselves that our dear President, who had been accused by even members of his own party, of not tackling the globally identified challenges, threatening to tear the country apart, with the urgency that they deserve, suddenly assumed the position of ‘Baba Sharp Sharp’ in bringing the warring factions of the All Progressives Congress together in Ekiti and other controversial states during the last congresses.
This could mean two things: that the President may be more concerned about staying in office at all costs than putting in place practical structures that can right the wrongs in critical sectors of the economy; or that the celebrated cabal, said to be dictating the tune behind the curtain, are at their wit’s end, trying to ensure that those, who are bent on seeing the end of a Buhari presidency, are not allowed to break their fragile pot of soup. If this is the case, Saraki, from all that has happened from the word go, would have been presented as a thorn that must not be given the chance to destroy the flesh; and this could threaten justice.
Already, the Police have confirmed the transfer of suspects linked to the alleged strings of killings in Kwara State to Abuja, warning that the alarm raised by the Senate President over the issue could compromise investigation and demoralise families of those killed by the notorious gang.
The Police spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, said, “The Force therefore wishes to categorically state that, there is no iota of truth in the allegation and false assertion by the Senate President of plot against him by the IGP to implicate the Kwara State Government and the Senate President in any criminal matter.
“Until investigation is concluded, any person (s) or group(s) who tries to interfere in the investigation process by action or utterances is committing an offence.”
This, interestingly, means that if care is not taken, Saraki may be charged with another weighty offence even before his foreseen persecutors obtain the doctored statements that would be used to implicate him as he had claimed.
While I would not, really, want to queue behind any of the parties in the middle of the National Assembly/Police face-off, it is pertinent to note that the ongoing confrontation is an unfortunate example of a stressed democracy, laced with catastrophic spikes of indiscipline in public service and legislative rascality.
Nigeria, definitely, has not had it this bad, even when confirmed dictators were in charge. For instance, a situation where the police boss has shunned the invitation of the upper chamber of the people’s representatives, not once, not twice, should call for the genuine concern of those who truly love this country.
Many of the legislators might have actually been found wanting in terms of all what could be summed up under Nigeria’s definition of corruption, but an attempt to use this as a foundation for backing insolence and disregard for laid down rules by those who should know better would be a call for anarchy.
Those who have insisted that the IGP must honour the Senate’s invitation, no matter how many times he is summoned, are not telling him to respect the senators if he feels they are not as distinguished as they should be; they are telling him that he is not too big to respect that institution, at least to protect Nigeria’s fledgling democracy.
On the current Saraki/Kwara Govt/Police hot topic, I would advise the Senate President to allow the Police do its work since the IGP has not acted outside the law. If it is about the feared doctored statements, when we get to that bridge, we’ll cross it. The initial statements will, at least, always be there as reference points, while Nigerians would remember that they had been warned.
For now, Nigerians need to read between the lines to see that those who seem to be at the forefront of what has been described as dirty politics, aimed at bringing Buhari back in 2019, at all costs, are his greatest enemies. The President must fight back, even at the expense of his political ambition; to keep his integrity intact after office.
