Unidentified persons have sensationally whisked away Senator Dino Melaye from armed policemen taking him to Lokoja to face trial for supplying arms to two thugs.
The Daily Trust reported there was pandemonium at the popular Area 1 Roundabout Abuja when the unidentified persons blocked two police Hilux pick-up vehicles and prised the embattled senator away. They threw him into their van and sped off.
The armed policemen belonging to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad did nothing. Perhaps they were stunned to react.
The Daily Trust said that the hijack drama lasted for a few minutes.
But in another curious twist, Melaye was said to have jumped off a police vehicle conveying him to Lokoja.
He was reportedly injured and now admitted at Zankli Hospital in Mabushi area of Abuja.
There was a picture of him on the barefloor by a roadside, but there was no single policeman in view. Other pictures, showed the senator being taken into an ambulance and hospital in Abuja.
The Nigerian Police on Tuesday in an earlier statement had broken their silence on Melaye, since his arrest and release on Monday by the Nigerian Immigration Service at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport and the police later cordoning off his Maitama home in Abuja.
In a statement, the police said they obtained a warrant of arrest and trailed Melaye to his house at Maitama, Abuja, which they cordoned off.
“He however surrendered himself to the Police this morning, 24th April, 2018 for investigation on the allegations against him”, the statement read.
“IT would be recalled that working on actionable intelligence, the Kogi State Police Command personnel and Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad trailed and arrested two suspects KABIRU SAIDU a.k.a OSAMA “31 YRS” and NUHU SALISU a.k.a SMALL “25 YRS” on the 19th January, 2018 at Ogojueje in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State. During investigation, they confessed to the various criminal roles they played in the commission of several kidnappings and Armed Robbery in different towns across Kogi State and its environs for which they have been on the wanted list of the Police for more than two years now.
“The gang leader KABIRU SAIDU a.k.a OSAMA revealed that he and his gang have been working as a Political Thug for one Alh. Mohammed Audu a Politician in the State and that Alh. Mohammed Audu invited him to Abuja and introduced him to Senator Dino Melaye and they met on Airport road, Abuja inside the Senator Dino Melaye’s Car in the month of December, 2017.
“He further revealed that Senator Dino Melaye handed over a bag containing one (1) AK47 rifle, two (2) Pump Action guns and the sum of four hundred and thirty thousand naira N430, 000.00 to share with his boys.
“Consequent on this indictment on the Senator, The Nigeria Police Force, sent a letter of investigation activities/invitation dated and acknowledged on 2nd March, 2018 addressed to the Senate President, Federal Republic of Nigeria informing and requesting him to release Senator Dino Melaye to report to the Police on the 7th March, 2018 to answer to criminal offences of Conspiracy and Unlawful Possession of Prohibited Firearms levelled against him, and another separate letter was equally written in this regard, this was to enable the Police Investigation Team carryout a discreet and thorough investigation into the case. But Senator Dino Melaye refused to honour the Police invitations.
“Sequel to his refusal to honour Police invitations, he was therefore watch listed through the Nigeria Police INTERPOL Office and in compliance to the INTERPOL’s “Watch List”, the officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service intercepted and collected his International Passport from him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. While this was on, he snatched the Passport from the officers at the Airport and bolted away to his house.
.NAN