Inspector-General of
Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, became the first scape goat of concluded general elections, which President Goodluck Jonathan and his
party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, lost to the opposition.
According to Vanguard, the police officer, who was
elevated to the post only last year, incurred the wrath of the Presidency on
the eve of the governorship and House of Assembly elections for allegedly
arguing with the government officials over the directive to recall the
Assistant Inspector-General of Police in Charge of Zone 6, Tunde Ogunshakin,
from Rivers State.
Abba, it was learnt, had
deployed Ogunshakin from his base in Calabar to Port Harcourt to oversee the
governorship election in Rivers State following complaints by Governor Rotimi
Amaechi of Rivers State, that the police had collaborated with the Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the PDP to intimidate APC members and
rig the presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.
Another source said the
former police boss reportedly ignored presidency official’s objection to the
deployment of Ogunshakin to Rivers State on the allegation that the police
officer was sympathetic to Amaechi and his party and would, therefore, not
allow the PDP win the state.
A Presidency source told
Vanguard that on learning that the IG had defied its order by redeploying
Ogunshakin to Rivers State to supervise the governorship elections. A
presidency official called the former police boss to recall the AIG with
immediate effect from Rivers State or face the consequences.
The source said the
presidency felt slighted when it could not get through to Abba.
The former police boss
reportedly told the Presidency that AIG Ogunshakin was a formidable Police
officer whom he described as a ‘no-nonsense officer’ feared and respected in
the Police Force hierarchy and capable of ensuring law and order in the place
of new assignment.
Although the sacked IG reluctantly recalled Ogunshakin from Rivers State,
forcing him to quit Port Harcourt by 5 am on the election day, Presidency did
not forgive Abba for redeploying Ogunshakin reluctantly.
Another sin of the former
IG was his presence at the presentation of the Certificate of Return to
Muhammadu Buhari at the International Conference Centre on April 1, 2015, which
convinced the Presidency that the IG was actually working for the opposition
and it moved quickly against him.
Vanguard
Not a competent police official anyway
ReplyDelete