By DADA AYOKHAI
Edo Police command said the story of arrest and detention of the Edo state INEC commissioner , Dr Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem by men of the police command is fake.
The police statement was contained in a release signed by ASP JENNIFER U. IWEGBU , DEPUTY POLICE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER who said “the attention of the Edo State Police Command has been drawn to an online report that the Edo State INEC Residential Electoral Commissioner was arrested yesterday 28th July, 2022 by operatives of the command.”
According to the police the “command wishes to state that the news is fake and mischievous, and it was orchestrated to mislead the public and strain the seamless inter-agency synergy between the Nigeria Police and the Independent National Electoral Commission in the State, ostensibly, for incomprehensible goals.”
“The fact of the matter is that a petition which was dated 20th July, 2022 was received from Dr Anthony Aziegbemi, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Edo State Chapter. The petition contained certain components that required informed and expert opinion which the Independent National Electoral Commission was best suited to provide towards aiding the Force in arriving at a credible investigative outcome.
“In furtherance to this and in appreciation of the inter-agency collaborative relationship between the Police and INEC in the Command, the Edo State INEC Residential Electoral Commissioner was invited, not as a suspect as being falsely projected in the media, but as an expert source to meet with the police leadership in the Command towards aiding us in addressing the technical issues in the investigative process. It must be clarified further that such administrative interactions between the leaderships of the Nigeria Police and INEC in Edo State is routine and not new.”
“Following the meeting, the Edo State Residential Electoral Commissioner offered informed opinions which are proving to be invaluable to the on-going police actions on the referenced petition and immediately after the meeting, the INEC REC left the Command Headquarters. Contrary to the mischievous information being peddled on the social media by ill-intentioned individuals, the INEC Residential Electoral Commissioner was not invited to the Command Headquarters as a suspect, neither was he treated as one nor detained by the Command. “
“While the freedom of information rights of the citizens and the mandates of journalists to inform the public remain acknowledged and respected, the Command wishes to advise, once again, that citizens and journalists should be circumspect and should always strive to verify sensitive information from authorized sources in the Command before publishing in overriding national security interest and to avoid being witting or unwitting harbingers of fake news which could threaten internal security order.”
The Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, CP Abutu Yaro, fdc, urges the good people of Edo state to go about their daily businesses while assuring that professionalism shall continue to guide all actions of the Police Command at all times. He further employs the general public to continue to work with the police by way of availing the command with credible information
