IG: DPO Who Invaded G-7 Govs’ Meeting “Was Doing His Job”

He told the House Committee on Police Affairs investigating the matter that he never directed anybody to barge into the meeting of the governors, even as he denied the allegation that he was biased in the crisis rocking Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The House had, last week, ordered the IGP to appear before the committee over alleged partiality of the police in the PDP crisis.

The chamber, in a resolution, said the IG had some explanation to give over the role played by Ama, the DPO in charge of Asokoro, Abuja, during the meeting of the G-7 governors. The motion was raised by Idris Kutigi (Niger PDP).

Kutigi’s motion, entitled Impunity and Disregard for the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended) by the Nigerian Police, was co-sponsored by 60 other PDP members. All  sponsors of the motion belong to the Alhaji Kawu Baraje-led PDP faction.

The motion was triggered by the alarm raised by governors that their meeting was disrupted by police authorities.

At yesterday’s session, Mohammed said he could not have asked any of his officers to go after the G-7 governors because his primary assignment is to maintain law and order in the country.

‘Nobody sent him’

“The DPO was not sent by anybody,” Mohammed said, explaining that what transpired between the G-7 governors and the DPO could not be described as disruption of meeting.

According to him, the DPO, as the officer in charge of the area, had the right to know what was going on in his domain.

The IGP said: “He is the DPO of the area. If anything happens he would be held responsible. He was doing his job.”

He stressed that the governors’ meeting continued after their short interaction with the DPO and wondered why the public was misled into believing that the meeting was disrupted.

Chairman of the Committee, Usman Kumho, said the IGP was invited for a clear understanding of what transpired at the meeting.

He said the Police cannot afford to be biased in the PDP crisis or any issue in the country, and urged Mohammed to always think about the implication of any action before taking it.