Police investigate alleged plots to frame Jonathan, Wike, others

THE Nigeria Police have ordered a thorough investigation into the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) allegation that a special Israel-trained police unit, conniving with the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, plans to abduct, assassinate and frame President Goodluck Jonathan and its governorship candidate, Nyesom Wike.

   This followed the call over the weekend by the Rivers PDP governorship campaign office on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to disband the special police unit popularly known as C4I.

   According to the campaign office, the C41 was conspiring with the APC to arm some young men, who would thereafter be arrested and falsely claim to have been armed by President Jonathan and Wike to assassinate opposition politicians in Rivers, kidnap and rob.

   However, the campaign team of the APC standard bearer, Dakuku Peterside, has urged the public to dismiss the allegation as baseless and intended to curry public sympathy in the face of the impending defeat.

   Peterside’s Greater Together Campaign Organisation spokesperson, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said the PDP should be ashamed of its tactics to curry public sympathy because, “this is the first time in Nigeria’s political history that a party in power at the national level is too afraid of meeting an opposition party at the polls.” 

    The Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee, PDP Governorship Campaign Organisation, Emmah Okah, told newsmen in Port Harcourt at the weekend that the leadership of the party had informed the Commissioner of Police that the policemen attached to the C4I had attempted to abduct and possibly eliminate PDP’s candidate for Port Harcourt Constituency 2, Tonye Adoki Ayella, but failed.

   He described the C4I as a parallel police force in Rivers, which could conveniently be called the “Rivers State Police Force” since by conduct and operation, it is obviously independent of the command. He insisted that the PDP in Rivers has totally lost confidence in the C4I.

   “The PDP also calls on the Inspector General of Police to ensure that this Israel-trained special unit, the C4I, is not used any further by the APC or any other political party for that matter, as its terrorist wing in Rivers State. 

   “It is rather incomprehensible and shameful that a special police squad created and funded by the Rivers State Government to contain the menace of kidnappers in the state is now the very organisation the government would be using for acts of abduction, kidnapping, planned assassinations and political chicanery.”

   However, the Commissioner of Police, Dan Bature, through the Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmad Muhammad, said the police were not aware of the allegations by the campaign organsiation. Muhammad maintained that C4I is a well-trained operational unit of the command, established since 2007 specifically to tackle the rising wave of violent crimes in the state.

   According to him, the unit is under the strict control and supervision of the Command’s Directorate of Operations and has recorded colossal successes in crime prevention and fighting in the state, particularly in terms of rescue of kidnapped victims, arrest of suspected vicious criminals, recovery of firearms/ammunition, stolen vehicles, illicit drugs and narcotics, feats that stand it out.

   “As a matter fact, the command, as a responsible law enforcement agency or any of its units, has no plan whatsoever to abduct, assassinate or frame and arrest leaders or members of any political party in Rivers

State or to orchestrate political violence, chaos and anarchy in the state. 

   “Therefore, there is no iota of truth in the allegations. The Commissioner of Police, until now, is not aware of the allegations. However, he has ordered an in-depth investigation on the allegations.”

She dismissed the allegation of APC planning to assassinate President Jonathan and Wike, noting that the PDP never knew that the day of retribution would come, and was now face to face with it.