CUPP to new IGP: Release all political detainees

THE Coalition United of Political Parties (CUPP) has told the new acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, to immediately release all political detainees in the custody of the police.

In a press conference addressed in Abuja on Tuesday, the national spokesman of the coalition, Ikenga Ugochinyere, mentioned Senator Dino Melaye and rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, being held by the police as those who must be freed.

He demanded an apology from the former police boss for the manner he ran the police force, which he observed, apart from allegedly being partisan, trampled on the rights of many Nigerians.

He said the CUPP demand for the retirement of Idris was well-intentioned, saying: “Our demand for the immediate retirement of the outgoing IGP and multiple legal actions against his continued illegal stay was not a witch-hunt but a legitimate move for the preservation of the sanctity of the laws of the land.

“CUPP and many other Nigerians welcome the end of the controversial IGP tenure as a major victory for our democracy. We, therefore, urge the incoming IGP to see his appointment as a service to the nation and to all Nigerians irrespective of our political and religious affiliation.”

The Olagunsoye Oyinlola-led CUPP marked the birthday of the retiring Idris, by cutting a birthday cake during the press conference, a gesture the opposition said was to celebrate the end of excesses of the police boss.

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The top cop clocks 60 on Tuesday bringing to an end his career in the force as mandated by civil service rules.

Lending their hands to the cake cutting were Chinyere,  Sam Eke, National Chairman Green Party of Nigeria; Jeff Ojinika, National Chairman of Coalition for Change; Nse Obong, National Chairman of Restoration Party and Ken Udeze, National Chairman of Action Alliance.

In his brief remark, Ojinika said: “We are saying no more framing of innocent Nigerians, we are saying yes to correct policing, we are saying the police force is for all Nigerians and not for the government in power, it’s for the purpose of policing all Nigerians and that the police should be our friend.

“So, for the IG of Police, we wish him the best that life can afford and to say in no distance time, he just apologise to Nigerians for the way he abused his office.”

Also reacting to the appointment of the Adamu as the acting IGP, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday charged to immediately commence the re-engineering of the Nigeria Police to restore professionalism and adherence to rules of engagement in the Force.

In a statement issued by Kola Ologbondiyan Director, Media & Publicity, PDP Presidential Campaign Organization, the party however berated the outgoing Inspector General, Ibrahim Idris, “for a shameful and partisan tenure, which destroyed professionalism in the police and compromised the lives and security of Nigerians, adding that he must be held accountable for all the atrocities he committed while in office.”

The statement said: “Ibrahim Idris will be remembered as the only IGP in our political history, who surrendered the responsibilities of his exalted office to the whims and caprices of politicians who share courtesies with the Buhari Presidency.

“He defied the need to secure troubled areas and watched carelessly while an integral part of our nation was engulfed in bloody clashes.

“Idris will also be remembered as that Police Officer, who had a penchant for framing innocent Nigerians with ridiculous allegations. Throughout his inglorious tenure, he functioned as the commander of the militant wing of the APC, just to retain his office and remain in power.”

The PDP, therefore, urged the new Police boss to learn a lesson from the shameful end of Idris as IGP by immediately setting up the process of re-orientating and insulating the Force from partisan politics, while subjecting it to the tenets of democracy and the rule of law.

It also admonished the police chief to avoid the pitfalls of the last IGP, “who has gone down in history as the most corrupt, devious and reckless police officer to hold the post of the IGP in Nigeria.”

The party further advised the new police boss to remove all templates of election rigging contained in the hand-over note that will be presented to him by Idris Ibrahim.

The PDP added: “The new IGP must also urgently take steps to address the bastardization of promotion in the Police under the last IGP, where officers due for promotion were denied and only those endorsed by a cabal or who have enough money to buy their way through were promoted. This is, in addition, to immediately setting up a process that guarantee proper welfare of officers and men of the Nigeria police.

“He must note that the whole world is watching him and we urge him not to fail the nation, which he owes his allegiance.

“Now that Idris Ibrahim has gone the way of leaders disgraced out of office, the PDP counsels all enemies of democracy, including President Buhari’s compromised relation in INEC, Mrs Amina Zakari, to take heed of the disgrace and infamy that await them at the end of their tenures.”