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TAMBUWAL SAYS HE IS READY FOR ARREST /QUESTIONING..

The Speaker of House of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, on Saturday asked the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, to invite him for questioning and possible arrest if found to have fallen fowl of the law.

Tambuwal was reacting to the directive the IGP reportedly gave to state police commissioners to invite him for questioning over the commotion that took place at the National Assembly on Thursday.

Tambuwal said the IGP did not need to seek far to invite him as he was freely available to answer any questions from law enforcement agencies, being a law-abiding citizen.



In a statement by his Special Assistant, Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Imam Imam, the speaker said he did not enjoy any immunity against arrest or protection except privileges conferred on him by the Legislative Powers and Privileges Act.

“The Honorable Speaker wishes to state that he is a law-abiding citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who has no immunity against arrest and prosecution except privileges as may be provided by the Legislative Powers and Privileges Act.

“Accordingly, the Speaker states for the records that he is available, ready and willing to answer any lawful invitation from any of the security agencies on any matter for which they may require his attention.”

Police arrest ex-soldier, four others for kidnapping in Ogun
Ogun State Police Command, led by Muhammed Tijani, have arrested an ex-soldier, and four suspected members of a kidnapping syndicate terrorising the state.
Parading the suspects, the state Police Commissioner, Ikemefuna Okoye, said the arrest was a breakthrough for the command and a setback for the syndicate which he said had been responsible for kidnappings in Ijebu axis.
“These five members of the syndicate responsible for the recent spate of kidnappings in the state have confessed that they are responsible for all of them”, Okoye said.
“The SARs has placed the syndicate on surveillance shortly after the Ojude Oba festival, before they swooped on their hideout at Ijebu Ode on Monday, November 10, 2014.
“They opened fire on our men when they got to their hideout. A shootout ensued and four members of the syndicate, including a woman, fell to the superior firepower of our men.
“But we were able to arrest five of them, while others are still at large,”he said.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com

Multiple explosions cause panic in Maiduguri

The thunderous sounds of multiple explosions in Maiduguri, Borno State, caused a stir in the city early Saturday as residents cringed in fear of a major Boko Haram attack.
The blasts, which sounded successively four times, were heard at about 7:30 am across the city as residents prepared to go out for their routine engagements.
Though there were no sounds of gun shots accompanying the explosions, many residents immediately sent messages across asking to know which part of the state was under attack. 
But a senior official of the State Security Service, SSS, told PREMIUM TIMES in Maiduguri that the blasts were not from Boko Haram. 
“Oh sorry, that was just a friendly firing carried out by soldiers of the 7 Division in Maiduguri; they were just test firing some equipments,” said the officer who asked not be named. 

Jonathan, PDP, defend police blockade of National Assembly

President Goodluck Jonathan and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, praised the nation’s police force Thursday after an attempt to force the speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, out of the National Assembly plunged the complex into chaos.
Speaking through a spokesperson, the president said the police were merely enforcing their “constitutional duty” to keep the peace, and that they acted independently.
The PDP lambasted Mr. Tambuwal and other lawmakers who forced their way through a police cordon, wondering what would have happened in the absence of security operatives.
“The whole scenario as we witnessed it is rather unfortunate,” Doyin Okupe, a presidential spokesperson, told reporters Thursday afternoon, hours after the siege.
“We wish that at all times national interest should supersede all other interests including personal and political interests,” he said.
Mr. Okupe defended the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, saying the police chief was doing his job by deploying scores of officers to the assembly.