A former Vice President, Namadi Sambo, has accused security agencies of a plot to plant incriminating object in his residence as part of a plan to bring criminal charges against him.
The former Vice President’s accusation follows the raid on his residence along Alimi Road in Kaduna, last Wednesday, by operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Special Anti -Robbery Squad of the Nigerian Police.
In a statement, last Saturday, through his spokesman, Umar Sani, Sambo said security agents had raided his property, especially unoccupied ones, five times and expressed concern that the raids were part of a mission to incriminate him at all cost.
The former vice president said, “In the previous searches which I duly complied with as a law abiding citizen, nothing was found. Yet, on each occasion, valuable fittings were deliberately destroyed by the security operatives.”
It would be recalled that during last Wednesday’s raid, the heavily armed security operatives blocked all entry and exit points to the expansive mansion on Ali Road, Kaduna, preventing neighbours from coming close to the residence.
The statement, which noted that the security operatives were armed with a search warrant, and conducted a forensic search of the entire residence, said there was confusion over their arrival at first.
“Initially, we were at a loss as to their identity but later discovered that they were operatives from the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC). This raid brings to five the number of times the residence was searched within a period of six months and on each occasion, valuable fittings were deliberately destroyed,” the statement read in part.
“It is worthy of note to state that no such brazen attempts were made at any point, either at his Link Road Kaduna residence, or his Abuja apartment, which he presently occupies. As the visit of the operatives was unscheduled, the reasons for the search were not specifically stated. However, the outcome of the search was made known. At the end of the whole exercise, the officers, who carried out the search were satisfied that nothing incriminating was found.”
The former vice president said although nothing was found, the way the raid was carried out showed desperation on the part of the security agencies, adding that he was concerned that there may be further raids during which an incriminating material could be planted.
The statement continued, “the recent desperation exhibited by some security agencies in carrying out a raid on an unoccupied residence blocking all entry and exit points, in a commando-style and coming along with a bullion van speaks volumes of the clandestine intention of the security operatives.
“It is, therefore, worrisome to note that the consistency with which the searches occurred and the intervals between them portray a desire of a fault-finding mission.
“We are apprehensive that a repeat of such episode will not be surprising if an incriminating object is planted in his residence in order to wilfully and deliberately incriminate him.
“It is against this background that we wish to draw the attention of the unsuspecting members of the public to this phenomenon. The desperation of some of the security agencies is glaring by the number of times such searches were conducted and still counting. We hope it is not a way to try to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it,” he added.