The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris,
has apologized to elder statesman, Edwin Clark over the invasion of his Abuja
residence by four policemen.
The policemen and their informant who have since
been arrested on the order of the Idris were said to be looking for arms kept
in the residence of the Ijaw leader.
The Inspector General of Police declared that the
raid was unapproved and tendered apology.
According to Force Public Relations Officer, Mr.
Jimoh Moshood, a delegation led by the DIG Habila Joshak, who is in charge of
operations at the headquarters, visited Clark to tender the apology of the
Inspector General of Police.
Moshood said Joshak “apologized on behalf of the
Nigeria Police Force and the IGP for the misconduct of the said Police
Personnel and the attendant embarrassment the search has caused on the Elder
Statesman and his family.”
He stated further: “The delegation was
received by Chief Edwin Clark and the apology was accepted by him.”
The elder statesman had, on Tuesday, demanded a
public apology from the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, over the
invasion of his residence.
The octogenarian former federal information
minister threatened legal action against the police.
Counsel to the Ijaw leader, Kayode Ajulo, in a
statement, condemned the action of the police, describing it as “uncivil and
brazen.”
“This afternoon, officers and men of the IGP
Special Tactical Squad, a unit under the direct command of the Inspector
General of Police, turned upside down the Asokoro residence of our client,
Chief Edwin Clark on the pretext that they were in search for arms and
ammunition,” the statement began.
“However, despite the siege and search,
they found nothing incriminating our client. Our client believes
that the unfortunate reasons given by the Nigerian Police is just another
figment of their wild imagination.
“The fact that a man of Chief Edwin Clark’s
stature could have his house raided in this uncivil, undemocratic and brazen
manner by the Nigerian Police underscores an anomalous and despotic tendency
and is an indication of the recent clampdown on opposition voices in Nigeria.
Our client at a graceful age of 92, has played a
very active role in the promotion and restoration of peace and order in the
Niger Delta region, his patriotic disposition to issues of national affairs
clearly puts him in a class of his own, second to none.
“It is also a fact that cannot be gainsaid or
misconstrued that his inputs in the Federal Government Amnesty Programme for
Niger Delta militants clearly paved the way for the eventual resolution of the
crisis.
“Therefore, it can be safely concluded that our
client is not deserving of such humiliation and embarrassment as meted out to
him by the Nigeria Police Force.
“In the final analysis, our client finds
the act of the Nigeria Police Force as reprehensible, inexcusable and
absolutely unacceptable.
“Consequent upon this, we demand that an
unreserved public apology be tendered to our client by the Nigeria Police
Force,” the statement concluded.
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