Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye has raised the alarm about a purported plan by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to kill him.
Tweeting on his handle, @dino_melaye, on Christmas day, Melaye said the plot being hatched by the IG was to arrest and inject him to death.
Melaye had further alleged that the Kogi Commissioner of Police, among other persons, was part of the plot.
“There is a plan by the IG to arrest me today and inject me to death. Men deployed already. CP Kogi and others removed. Nigerians watch out,” the tweet read.
However, the police, through a statement released on Wednesday, described the allegation as “mischievous, malicious, laughable and capable of misleading the public.”
The police’s reaction conveyed in a statement by its spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, held that there was no such order from the IGP or any plan by the force to arrest Melaye or inject him to death.
Rather than, “whipping up sentiments to distract the public,” the police urged Melaye to own up if he had committed any crime or was aware of his involvement in any crime.
The statement read in parts: “The Force is categorically stating that the statement is mischievous, malicious, capable of misleading the public and laughable, there was no such order from the Inspector General of Police or any plan by the Force to arrest Senator Dino Melaye and inject him to death but if the Senator knows he had committed any crime or he is aware of his involvement in any crime, he should come out and confess and face the legal consequences instead of whipping up sentiments to distract the public.
“The Force sees such defamatory, mischievous, malicious and reckless statement by Senator Dino Melaye as untrue, ridiculous, mischievous and unfortunate. Members of the public are hereby enjoined to disregard and discountenance the statement by Senator Dino Melaye in its entirety as untrue and mischievous.
“Senator Dino Melaye is hereby called upon to know that his statement constitutes a criminal defamatory offence, hate speech and hateful conduct. He should however as a lawmaker be law-abiding and desist from un-senatorial and lawless utterances that cannot be substantiated with facts.
“The Inspector General of Police will not be distracted by statements from the likes of Senator Dino Melaye but will continue to ensure that the rule of law prevails in all matters.”
and then