The Senate yesterday condemned the move by the police to declare Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West) wanted for what it considered as framed up charges .
It consequently ordered its committees on Judiciary and police to investigate the plan and report back within 48 hours for further legislative action.
Melaye was in furtherance of the political crisis ravaging Kogi state declared wanted by the Police over accusation of arming some suspects presently in police custody.
The Senate’s resolutions against the police followed the motion moved by Isa Hamman Misau (APC, Bauchi Central) in which he called the attention of the Senate to the dimension the Kogi crisis was taking, stressing that “there is total breakdown of Law and order.”
He called on the Senate to halt the descent into anarchy in the state with active connivance of the police, saying if a Senator could be declared wanted without due process no Nigerian was safe.
He said: “The Police are setting a bad precedent in that state and I fear if we continue to look on without doing anything we will soon see the replica in other states. Why are the police so interested in politics in Kogi while they abandon other pressing challenges in the country?”
Melaye wondered why the police decided to declare him wanted even as his house and address were known.
“One of those declared wanted by the police concerning my assassination attempt is the same one they said has made confession that gave him guns and N430, 000.
“Last week, they made me so important that they had to address two press conferences on a matter concessioning me. They have made me so important that two press conferences were addressed about me by they could not address conference in Dapchi kidnap or the insecurity in parts of the north and riverine areas.”
The Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, who said he could have chosen to support the confusion in the state since it was an APC state, but that he could not do that because the matter was beyond partisanship.
In his remarks, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said it was his belief that whatever affected one senator affected all.
“It may be Dino today it could be any of us tomorrow. It is important that in Democracy opposing views should be entertained, the reason we should not allow anybody to be shut out by the state,” he said.
