Kassim Afegbua, the media adviser
to ex-Nigerian leader Ibrahim Babangida, who was declared wanted by the police
has absolved himself of any wrongdoing.
But the spokesperson said he
would turn himself in to the authorities by Wednesday and was prepared to fight
his ordeal in courts.
Mr. Afegbua released the Sunday
statement which Mr. Babangida, a former head of state, used to complain about
President Muhammadu Buhari’s shortcomings and advised Nigerians on the path to
the future.
Hours after the statement was
released, a counter press release emerged that purportedly had Mr. Babangida’s
approval.
The development immediately threw
the public into confusion, and reports surfaced Sunday night that police were
looking for Mr. Afegbua.
The hint that police would arrest
Mr. Afegbua first came from the presidency, according to media reports.
Mr. Afegbua had on Monday
afternoon said he didn’t receive any invitation from the police
after reports emerged Sunday night that he was wanted.
He also wondered when the
presidency became a mouthpiece of the police.
Mr. Babangida told ThisDay newspaper that he had no complaints about Mr. Afegbua because the statement he
circulated was authorised by him.
“The original statement still
stands”, Mr. Babangida reportedly said to ThisDay Sunday night.
By Monday night, police
spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, said Inspector-General Ibrahim Idris ordered the
arrest of Mr. Afegbua “for making false statements, injurious falsehood,
defamation of character and for an act capable of inciting public disturbance
throughout the country.”
“He is therefore declared wanted
by the NPF and should report at the nearest police station,” Mr. Moshood, a
chief superintendent of police, said Monday night.
Mr. Afegbua told Premium times after he was declared wanted that his lawyers were studying the pronouncement.
And shortly after midnight, a statement from his lawyers was sent absolving the journalist and long-time spokesperson of Mr. Babangida of
any wrongdoing.
Mr. Afegbua “is a well-known
journalist and was a cabinet member of Edo State Government with a known
address in Benin, Edo State and Abuja, yet he is not on notice of the police
invitation whatsoever, before the purported publication declaring him wanted,”
according to the statement which came from Kayode Ajulo & Co. in Abuja.
“For the avoidance of doubt,
there are spelt-out procedures for declaring a person wanted by the police. The
police or other law enforcement agencies can declare a person wanted if they
find reasons to do so, particularly if the person is a suspect in the
commission of a crime and is on the run.
“The public must know that our
client, in discharging his duty to his principal, General Ibrahim Babangida,
GCFR cannot by any stretch of the imagination be said to have committed a crime
that warrants such negative publicity. Neither is he on the run.
“Our client, however, remains
undeterred by the desperate efforts of some individuals to intimidate him and
bend his will and rights against the Constitution provisions, framework of
Nigeria Police Force Act and the laws of the land.
“The circumscription of his
constitutional right to the dignity of self, freedom of expression and fair
hearing denotes that there is a desperate attempt to scare him into
submission,” the statement said.
Mr. Afegbua would turn himself in
when he returns from a trip by Wednesday, his lawyers said.
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