FROM RAHILA ABDULLAHI, KADUNA
Kaduna State Police Command has denied a statement by former Governor Nasir El-Rufai linking the police to kidnapping and arrest of political opponents of Governor Uba Sani.
El-Rufai had in a post on his X handle claimed that the state police command had become a “kidnapping gang for Sani” and being used to arrest opposition members.
In a statement issued in Kaduna by the police spokesperson, DSP Hassan Mansir, the command emphasised that there is no kidnapping gang within its fold, noting that the police is a legitimate institution.
The statement clarified that the police, as a lawful body, has the authority to arrest anyone alleged to have committed a crime.
Mansir noted that once “Individuals, corporate organisations and government lodge a formal complaint to the police, it has the mandate to investigate such allegations and when it is believed that an offence had been committed, such matter would be prosecuted or referred to court.
“The attention of the Kaduna State Police Command has been drawn to a statement credited to a former governor on his X handle, wherein he alleged that one of his former commissioners, Malam Jafaru Sani, was abducted by what he referred to as ‘Uba Sani’s kidnapping gang,’ which he claimed to be the police.
“The former governor stated that Jafaru was remanded in prison custody by a magistrate without any police First Information Report or charges by the state Ministry of Justice.
“To put the records straight, there is no kidnapping gang within the Nigeria Police Force. The police as an institution was created by the 1999 Constitution. The statutes mandate it to maintain law and order.
“In the discharge of this constitutional duty, the police has the legal, legitimate and constitutional right to arrest and investigate whoever is alleged or suspected to have committed an offence.
“Individuals, corporate organisations and government, etc, have the right to lodge a formal complaint to the police and the police have the mandate to investigate such allegations, and when it is believed that an offence has been committed, such matter is referred to the court,” the statement said.
It urged members of public, especially individuals who have held positions of authority, to exercise caution and desist from frivolous and malicious allegations against any security agency.
