Rivers Police Free 275 Boko Haram Suspects …Police Acted Within The Law – Jigawa Lawmakers

The police in Rivers State,  last Wednesday released the 275 Boko Haram suspects out of the 294 arrested last Sunday.

The release came three days after the suspects were arrested and detained at the state Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Port Harcourt.

The other 19 suspects, who did not have any reasons whatsoever to move to Port Harcourt and who did not give any satisfactory account of their mission to Rivers State were recommended for further investigation.

Addressing journalists in Port Harcourt yesterday, the Deputy Commission of Police, SCID, Sam Okaula, said one of the suspects, Mohammed Musa, was discovered to be in possession of an expended ammunition which was hidden in a bag.

Okaula also disclosed that another suspect, Mohammed Lawal, who was crossing form Niger Republic to Nigeria in his Toyota Hiace Bus with unidentified persons into Port Harcourt was still being detained for further interrogation.

He said the 295 suspects were being driven into River State in 17 buses and that they were arrested between 2.am and 6.am on Sunday by two different teams of policemen led by the DPO of Nkpolu and Oyigbo Divisions on the instruction of the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu.

According to Okaula, “It will be recalled that on Friday night, January 24, 2014, the commissioner of police received an alarming information that members of Boko Haram were being massively transported to Rivers State particularly, Port Harcourt from certain parts of the country for the purpose of causing havoc on innocent citizens.

“As it were, such information cannot be taken lightly hence all DPO’s, Area Commanders and operatives were alerted to be vigilant by the commissioner of police. What the police have done was a response to information especially considering the security situation in some parts of the country.

“It must be noted that there is no political colouration whatsoever as being speculated by some members of the public. The exercise is purely security routine and should be seen as such.”

Meanwheile, the Jigawa State House of Assembly has said that the Rivers State Police command acted within the law following the arrest of 287 suspected Boko Haram suspects from the state.

Chairman of the Special Committee on the issue, Hon. Zakari Turu, who said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt, however, cautioned that nobody should be held without any justifiable reason.

Hon. Tura said that the Police have a right to act on security report but insisted that those affected are not Boko Haram members, but common traders who have spent the greater part of their lives in Rivers State.

He also said that the committee was not aware that any of the suspects was from Niger Republic, but noted that as a border state, checking cross border movement was always very difficult.

Tura, who represents Fazaure constituency in the Jigawa State House of Assembly, said that his committee was on a fact-finding mission to the state, stressing that the committee will meet with the Police and other relevant stakeholders on the issue to ensure that the people’s rights were not infringed upon while the law was not circumvented.

He commended the people of Rivers State on the level of hospitality accorded them and their people, and advised Northerners living in Rivers State to desist from involvement in acts capable of jeopardizing the excellent relationship between the state and the North.

Also speaking, Hon. Shehu Liman Kaugama said that the Police have not found any thing incriminating on those arrested.

Kaugama also said that all the suspects were youths who were eking out a living in Port Harcourt, stressing that such people have nothing to do with Boko Haram or any form of criminality.

The lawmaker further said that the suspects were all bona fide citizens of Nigeria, and therefore, can reside anywhere in the country.