The Nigeria Police Force, NPF, says that the former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Interim Management Committee, IMC, Barr Joi Nunieh, is under investigation.
This was disclosed by the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, Joseph Mukan. His disclosure came as a surprise to not a few Nigerians, considering that he had, on Thursday, said that he was not aware that a detachment of Police had invaded Nunieh’s Porthacourt residence to effect her arrest.
The Policemen, numbering over a dozen, had besieged Nunieh’s residence as early as 4.00am, Thursday, to arrest her, without an arrest warrant.
On seeing them invading her home, breaking down gates and doors, she had reached out to a couple of people. She quoted Senator Magnus Abe, who reached the CP as telling her the CP was not aware of the presence of the Police, and would send Policemen from the Command to get residence.
She, also, spoke to the CP, and insists that the CP denied knowledge of their presence in her home, and even asked for her physical address to enable him send policemen to her house.
On giving him the address, she said the CP sent the DCP Operations, who, instead of protecting, after asking her to come down, made a move to jump her. She slammed the door in his face.
She was rescued by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who stormed her house, confronted the Police, slammed them for invading her house at such an uncivilized time, and without a search warrant. Wike also said it was akin to a kidnap, since neither the IGP, nor the CP knew about the invasion.
He ordered them out, and took Nunieh away with him to Government House, where she said she had become a refugee.
But in an about-face, the Rivers State Police Command now claims it was aware of the operation, and that the IGP was also aware.
At a Press Conference, the Command’s Spokesperson, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, disclosed that the Policemen came from the IGP’s Monitoring Team, and were on legal duty. He said that they duly registered their presence at the State Command, before going for Nunieh.
To drive home the point, the CP is asking Wike to release Nunieh to him as she is under investigation. The CP did not disclose the reason for the investigation. And/or what Nunieh did.
It is not likely Wike would release her to the Police, without an outraged Nigerian public, knowing why. The question not a few people are asking is what she did? What crime, when? And why now when she is exposing an alleged monumental corruption at the NDDC.
She was billed to appear before the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee probing the scandalous and reckless wastage of money at the NDDC that morning.
The conclusion by some Nigerians is that somebody desperately wants to stop her from appearing before the House Committee.
Before the invasion, she had made very damning allegations against the Minister for Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio. And, even though Akpabio has put up some defence, Nunieh made more damning allegations against Akpabio on Friday, when she testified by Zoom.
Meanwhile, a Porthacourt High Court, on Friday, gave an injunction stopping the Police, or any other Security organ, from arresting Nunieh until the substantive case is decided.
Based on the allegations, the Committee has also invited Akpabio to appear before it on Monday.
On Thursday , President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered a speedy and coordinated investigation into the NDDC multi-billion Naira Corruption scandal.
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