- Insists Officers On ‘Legitimate Assignment’
By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Rivers State Police Command has dismissed as untrue reports that the armed operatives who attempted to arrest the former Managing Director of the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Joi Nunieh did not get approval from the Inspector General of Police and the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State.
SP Nnamdi Omoni, Rivers Police Command’s Public Relations Officer refuted the claim in a statement on Friday.
Omoni said the operatives were on legitimate duty.
Omoni confirmed that the personnel at Nunieh’s residence were from the IGP Monitoring Team in Abuja and were in Port Harcourt on official assignment.
The New Diplomat had reported how armed policemen laid a siege to Nunieh’s residence in Port-Harcourt in the wee hours of Thursday while preparing to leave Port-Harcourt for Abuja to testify before the House Committee probing funds mismanagement at the NDDC.
It took the intervention of Governor Wike to thwart the attempted abduction of Nunieh.
Addressing reporters at government house, Port Harcourt, after she had been rescued, Nunieh said the policemen were without arrest warrant.
Also, Governor Nyesom Wike had said he was told that the Inspector General of Police was not aware of the attempted arrest, asking the police to investigate the invasion.
But the statement by the Rivers Police Command has debunked the claim made by both Wike and Nunieh, describing it as “preposterous and unfortunate.”
It added that before the officers proceeded to her residence, they observed due protocols and requisite standard operating procedures, including going through the processes of arriving themselves at the Headquarters with their Investigation Activities duly signed and approved by the Commissioner of Police, CP Joseph Mukan.
“The attention of the Rivers State Police Command has been drawn to an Online Publication, credited to Vanguardngr.com, where it was erroneously reported that ‘the MOPOL presence at the residence of Joi Nunieh was not the directive of the Command.”
“Ordinarily, such a phantom report should have been ignored but due to the potential danger inherent in keeping silent, the Command is minded to react and state the true position as follows: That they went to her (Nunieh’s) residence with Mobile Policemen, suggesting of course that they were there on official duty and not illegal duty as speculated.
“That, the reference indicating that the Officers were there without the directive of the CP nor the IGP is preposterous and most unfortunate, hence should be discountenanced and disregarded,” the statement read.
