Senate probes into Police involvement in Kwara election, Zamfara killings

The Senate has directed its committee on Police Affairs headed by Senator Tijjani Kaura (APC Zamfara North) to probe alleged Police involvement in the recently conducted bye-election in Kwara State and unending killings going on in Zamfara State.

These were sequel to two separate motions moved to that effect by Senators Rafiu Ibrahim (PDP Kwara South) and Tijjani kaura (APC Zamfara North).

Rafiu Ibrahim in his own motion moved through order 43 of the Senate standing rules under personal explanations, alleged that the last Saturday bye-election conducted in Irepodun/Isin/ Oke-Ero/Ekiti Federal Constituency was militarised and skewed in favour of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Raheem Olawuyi, by both the Police and men of the Department of State Services (DSS).

According to him, two days to the election, precisely on Thursday, 15th November, 2019, a Police Helicopter landed in Omu- Aran where hefty bags of suspicious monies and electoral materials were seen being offloaded into the personal vehicle of Raheem Olawuyi who was later declared as winner of the election.

Senator Ibrahim, who tendered photographs of the alleged Police connivance in the election rigging, added that even on Saturday, the Election Day, many of the PDP leaders and agents were arrested in their localities before the election as a way of intimidating others from participating in the election.

The intimidation, according to him, made just 41,000 out of the 168,000 registered voters in the federal constituency to exercise their franchise.

“What took place in that part of Kwara State last Saturday was purely Police siege, harassment, intimidation and not election which must be investigated by this Senate to prevent reoccurrence of such in any part of the country in the 2019 general election.

“Imagine an election which took place in just four local government areas attracting four directors from the DSS headquarters in Abuja, hundreds of senior police officers including an Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to a serving governor and of course, thousands of men of the Police Force and DSS.

“This motion is not to contest the predetermined result but to put what happened in the public domain in preventing future occurrence”, he said.

Senator Kaura in his own motion anchored on rules 42 and 52 of the Senate Standing orders as amended, drew the attention of the Senate to the unending wanton killings and kidnappings being carried out on daily basis in Zamfara State by mindless killers.

He said despite the recent intervention made by the presidency to stem the ugly tide, that the killings remained unabated and even increasing on daily basis.

Statistically, according to him, as of Wednesday, over 100 people were kidnapped spreading across the 14 local government areas in the state,

Out of the 100, he said 90 were from his senatorial district in the ratio of 45 in Shinkafi, 12 in Zurmi, 13 Birnin Magaji and 10 in Kaora Namoda Local government areas.

“These dastardly acts of kidnapping and killings need to be urgently tackled by relevant authorities and thoroughly investigated by the Senate to save the state from being totally wiped out by mindless criminals and blood thirsty killers “, he said.

A more pathetic picture of the situation on ground in the state was painted by Senator Kabiru Marafa (APC Zamfara central) in his contribution to the motion.

According to him, one of the recently kidnapped people of the state was a pregnant woman who eventually gave birth in captivity.

“The killings and other deadly crimes in Zamfara are getting too rampant and we need to do something very drastic “, he stressed.

Incidentally, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, tasked the mover of the motion (Senator Kaura) to as the Chairman of Senate Committee on Police Affairs fast-track expeditious consideration and passage of the Police Reform Bills aside conventional investigations that should be carried out.