President Muhammadu Buhari has sent warning to the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba and the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force, that he will not accept excuses for any lapses in the general elections due to commence with Presidential election on February 25.

According to the President, his expectations of them in respect of the provision of requisite security ahead of the 2023 general  elections is high.

The President spoke today, February 13, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, as he commissioned Critical Operational Assets procured by the Nigeria Police Force.

President Buhari commended the IGP for advancing the Police Reform Agenda of his Administration and for the several initiatives he had brought to the Force, but reminded him of the expectations, saying: “you should, however be reminded of my high expectations of your leadership, particularly, in relation to the provision of requisite security that will engender not just stable security space ahead of the General Elections, but guarantee the credibility of the exercise.

“In this task, I call on the Inspector General of Police and indeed, all law enforcement agencies that will be complementing the police in the election security process to note that the eyes of the nation and the global community will be on you all.”

President Buhari reiterated the centrality of an efficient and responsive police force in strengthening of democracy and the essence of the Police Reform and Re-equipping Agenda which this administration has vigorously pursued:

“We are running a democratic system which is guided by the rule of law and the Police worldwide is recognized as the most symbolic agency within the democratic governance and rule of law process. Therefore, any nation that is desirous of deepening her democratic credentials and advancing the course of rule of law must prioritize the efficiency of her police institution,” President Buhari declared.

He restated his pledge to bequeath a credible democratic culture to the nation, and expressed satisfaction with the brief by the IGP during the meeting of the Council of State on Friday, February 10.

“My pledge is to bequeath to the nation a democratic culture in which the Police will not only be apolitical and impartial during the 2023 General Elections, but also one in which the process will be peaceful and secure and the outcome truly reflective of the free will of the citizens.”

He added that he was delighted that the acquisition of the assets he was commissioning was in tandem with his aspiration.

The President used the opportunity to commend successive leaderships of the Nigeria Police as well as the commitment of the current Inspector General of Police and his  Management Team towards the Police Reform of this administration evidenced by notable activities and projects carried out  including the recent commissioning of an ultra- modern Police Headquarters and a well equipped Hospital in Yobe State.

He charged the Police, in line with their service oaths and statutory obligation to the nation, not to disappoint:

“I renew the assurances of my firm trust in your leadership and unwavering support for police. It is indeed, in demonstration of this that I recently approved the release of requisite funds to the Nigeria Police Force towards the continuation of the next phase in the annual recruitment exercise of ten thousand (10,000) Constables in line with extant Presidential approvals.”

This was even as the Inspector General of Police said that the critical assets being commissioned were procured from the Special Presidential Intervention Fund as part of a strategic plan towards stabilizing the security space before, during and after the 2023 General Elections and for the purpose of boosting the capacity of the Nigeria Police to manage civil disorder, in line with acceptable national legal framework and international law enforcement protocols.

He acknowledged the commitment of the President to the uplift of the Nigeria Police, declaring that “President Buhari’s continued support and association during the commissioning of her infrastructure and operational assets presents a clear statement to the premium that Mr. President places on the Nigeria Police and policing issues in the country.”

Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, informed President Buhari that the Ministry of Police Affairs had in recent years rolled out robust logistical support and effective policy environment to complement the efforts of the Nigeria Police Force.

According to the Minister, the day’s event “was not an isolated initiative. It is part of the broad, well thought out and meticulously implemented policing strategy of the Inspector General of Police, which is built on his leadership vision that internal security can be stabilized on a sustainable basis only through a well-equipped, modernized, highly resourced and appropriately trained policing institution.”

Director of new media for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Femi Fani-Kayode has appeared before the Department of State Service (DSS), where he apologized for raising alarm over coup de’ tat in the country.

Speaking to news men today, February 13, in Abuja after being interrogated by the officers of the DSS for five hours, Fani-Kayode admitted that he should have been circumspect before going public on the issue.

Fani-Kayode, who is the country’s former aviation minister, described the situation in the country as similar to “war front because we are in a war presently on the political front.”

“While we are experiencing such war, there is the fog of war where we say either the right things or the wrong things. Nobody is infallible. But the truth is when it comes to the issue of national security, we have to be careful.”

He said that the coup alarm raised shock waves across the polity, saying that his action was aimed at drawing the attention of security agencies to be on top of the situation if there was any iota of truth in the matter.

The APC campaign spokesman said that he had to honour the DSS invitation because his hands were clean on the matter adding that he is under instruction by the DSS to report back every Wednesday of the week pending the possibility of being charged to court.

He recalled his ordeal in the hands of the DSS, saying: “I was subjected to a thorough grilling. They were very inquisitive and very professional. I wasn’t oppressed and they were not acting on the call for my arrest by the PDP.”

Son of former Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, Senator Abdulaziz Nyako has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, stood by his family in their difficult moment after the impeachment of his father.

Speaking to newsmen at a town hall meeting in Yola, Adamawa State today, February 12, Senator Abdulaziz  Nyako said that Tinubu and ex-Senate President Bukola Saraki came to his father’s aid after being impeached on July 15, 2014, after his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.

He said that while Saraki and Tinubu stood by his father, Northern leaders, including members of his G-5 group that fought Jonathan, refused to give his father temporary shelter in their states.

According to him, Tinubu and Saraki staked their necks to facilitate Nyako’s escape to London, where he lived in exile until President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn-in in 2015.

“Asiwaju and Saraki helped Admiral (Nyako) to leave the country. In fact, it was Asiwaju’s son that paid for his (Admiral Nyako’s) accommodation in London.”

The senatorial candidate said that at a time, Tinubu’s camp canvassed his vote for Ahmad Lawan for Senate presidency as against Saraki, he told them that he could not trade Saraki for anybody except Tinubu himself.

Source: Daily Trust.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has warned Farooq Kperogi, a Nigerian professor based in the United States (US) against “unwarranted attacks” on the Nigerian judiciary.

Kperogi had criticized the Supreme Court over its recent judgment that confirmed former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio and Senate President Ahmad Lawan as senatorial candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25 elections.

In an article titled: “Lawan and Supreme Court of Shameless Judicial Bandits” which Kperogi authored and shared on social media platforms, he described the apex court “as the most hopeless Supreme Court in the history of the world’s supreme courts.”

And in a statement today, February 11, by the Supreme Court’s Director of Press and Information, Festus Akande, the apex court warned Kperogi and other Nigerians against attacking the judiciary, especially the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.

Akande described Kperogi’s piece as an “an ineptly poorly scripted toxic article” that exposed “his irredeemable ignorance” about the law “with a view to pleasing his paymasters.”

He added that the silence of the Supreme Court over unwarranted attacks “must not be mistaken for weakness or cowardice.”

Akande frowned at Kperogi’s choice of words and cautioned Nigerians against violating the rights of others in the course of expressing their sentiments.

“Even in a state of emotional disequilibrium, we should be reasonable enough to make a good choice of decent words, as every word employed by the pen-happy Kperogi only succeeded in portraying the kind of vacuum that sign-posts all that he has as academic accomplishment.

“Certainly, every Nigerian citizen has an inalienable right to express his or her opinion without any encumbrance; but even in the course of expressing such fundamental right, we should be circumspect enough to observe the caution gate of self-control in order not to infringe on another person’s right.”

The Supreme Court spokesman said that all matters brought to Nigerian courts are thoroughly analysed and considered based on their merits “and not the faces that appear in court or sentiments that attempt to becloud the sense of reasoning”.

“So, for anyone in his or her right frame of mind to insinuate that the Justices have been bought over by some unknown and unseen persons is, to say the least, a bizarre expression of ignorance, which definitely has no place in law or even in the realm of pedestrian reasoning.”

Source: ICIR.