Police Reject Saraki’s Allegations, Deny Shielding Political Thugs.

The police have rejected the allegations by Senate President
Bukola Saraki against the Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim
Idris.

Condemning the claims on Friday, the Force Public Relations
Officer Jimoh Moshood urged Nigerians to ignore the allegations
which he said were not true.

“The attention of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to a
statement in the media credited to the Senate President on the
recent political development in Kwara State where he raised
allegations that ‘…the entire world to hold the IGP responsible if
anything untoward happens to members of my family and myself,”
Moshood noted in a statement.

“The Nigeria Police Force wishes to categorically state that all
the allegations in the statement of the Senate President are
incorrect, misleading and false and should be disregarded and
discountenanced by the general public.”

Contrary to the lawmaker’s claims, Moshood said the police never
gave any form of protection to political thugs to attack the family
quarters of the Senate President in Ilorin and vandalise property
or injure anybody.

“The Police did not receive any complaint or report of a gunshot
and wounding as claimed by the Senate President in other areas he
mentioned such as Adewole/Adeta, Ile-Otan and Ubandawaki/Pakata,”
he stated.

“For the avoidance of doubt, there was no complaint reported at
any police division within Ilorin metropolis or any other police
division on the 10th January, 2019 to today 11th January 2019 of
any attack, wounding, shooting and destruction of any property by
any individual(s) or any political party on their members”

The force spokesman insisted that they have beefed-up security
within Ilorin metropolis and other locations in Kwara State to
ensure the residents were safe.

He added that all police personnel attached to the Senate
President, his office and family, were intact and the statutory
security protection on his person was also accorded him all the
time.

Moshood stressed that there was no complaint from the Senate
President before now and faulted the claims that the IGP made
attempts to implicate him.

He said, “It is incumbent on the Force to set the record
straight and correct the wrong impressions that must have been
created in the minds of the general public and the international
community from the misinformation and misleading account from the
Senate President.

“The Inspector General of Police did not try any trick to
implicate the Senate President in some criminal charges; the facts
are in the public domain about the suspects of the Offa Bank
Robbery now being prosecuted who implicated the Senate President in
the matter.”

The force spokesman informed Nigerians that the police have no
undisguised hostility against the Senate President or his
supporters in Kwara State.

He added that there was no attempt to jeopardise or undermine
Saraki’s personal security and that of his immediate and larger
family

Moshood noted that police would continue to be apolitical and
ensure adequate security throughout the country for all political
parties, as well as their members and supporters before, during and
after the general elections.