The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed allegation by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, planned to kill him.
The police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, in a statement on Sunday, described the allegation as malicious, saying it was capable of misleading the public and causing disaffection between the NPF and the people of Rivers State.
Wike had in an interview said the IG had instructed the Commissioner of Police in the state to kill him.
But Moshood said the governor was being guarded by no fewer than 221 policemen, which he said were more than what some police area commands in some states had.
He also said contrary to Wike’s claim, only three CPs and not nine CPs had served in Rivers State since Idris assumed office.
The police spokesman said, “There was no time either recently or in the past that the Inspector-General of Police gave an order or assignment to the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State or any police officer anywhere in the country to kill Mr. Nyesom Wike, the Governor of Rivers State or directs the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State to cage the governor as alleged.
“It is incumbent on the Nigeria Police Force to educate the general public and draw the attention of the governor to the facts and figures available for press and members of the public to verify that there are 221 police personnel attached currently to Governor Nyesom Wike for his personal and official protection.”
According to the police, the personnel attached to Wike included one aide-de-camp, one chief security officer, one unit commander (Special Protection Unit); one unit commander (Counter-terrorism Unit) and one escort commander.
Others are one camp commander; one administrative officer to administer the police personnel, 54 inspectors, 136 sergeants and 24 corporals.
The police spokesman explained that 28,000 policemen and personnel of other security agencies were deployed in Rivers State in December last year for the rerun election.
The men, he added, operated under the aegis of Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security platform created by the Independent National Electoral Commission and the NPF to ensure the security and safety of the electorate, INEC officials, election materials and other critical stakeholders before, during and after the polls.
The police cautioned the governor against casting aspersions on the IG and the police, advising him to be conscious of national security when making public statements.
Source:punch
