JUMADAL THANI 18 1430 A.H.
TUESDAY JUNE, 16 2009
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At last: Ekiti Deputy Speaker arrested
The Police in Ekiti state yesterday confirmed the arrest of the Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly, Mr. Saliu Adeoti, over his alleged complicity in the burning of INEC office in Ido-Osi during the April 25 supplementary governorship election.
Confirming the arrest in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ado-Ekiti, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Fabian Osuji, said the police were “enforcing” a warrant of arrest issued on Adeoti by the Police on the alleged arson.
The Police Command in Ekiti on May 6 declared Adeoti wanted and issued a warrant of arrest on him for his alleged involvement in arson at Ido-Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Government Area.
Following an application for the enforcement of his fundamental human right,
Justice Louis Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti, on May 8 restrained the Police from detaining the deputy speaker for more than 24 hours based on the allegion.
The police said that Adeoti was arrested in his house in Otun-Ekiti in Moba Local Government Area early on Monday and taken to the police headquarters in Ado-Ekiti for interrogation.
``The Police are enforcing the warrant of arrest earlier issued on the Deputy Speaker over his alleged role in the burning of INEC office at Ido-Osi during the April 25 re-run election.
``We need explanations from him on his roles in the allegation. He is on his way with my men from Otun-Ekiti to the state police command headquarters in Ado-Ekiti,” Osuji said.
Efforts by a correspondent of NAN to speak to Adeoti failed because all calls to his mobile phones did not go through.
In another development, the Borno Police Command said yesterday it was not involved in last Thusday's shooting of 17 members of the Muhammad Yusuf Islamic sect in Maiduguri.
Police Commissioner Chris Dega, who said this in Maiduguri at a news briefing, declared that the command had no blame in the incident.
``I want to state categorically that the command has no direct involvement in the shooting.
``Rather, it was a member of the Joint Security Task Force, the Operation Flush, which comprises the Army, the Air Force, the Police and the State Security Service, who was involved in the incident,'' Dega said.
He expressed dismay that most media reports on the crisis had placed the police at the centre of the crisis.
``I want to say that most media reports on the issue were misleading, even those that sought my reaction ended up misquoting me at the end.
``I want to stress as one of the security chiefs in the state that the police command has no direct supervision over the Operation Flush,'' Dega said.
He called on journalists in the state to cooperate with the command in its task of maintaining law and order.
Eyewitnesses had told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that a mobile policeman attached to the Operation Flush had fired at the group after failing to obey traffic rules while in a funeral procession.
