Lawmaker demands release of detained legislative aides

A member of Kogi State House of Assembly, Idris Ndako, has expressed concern over the continued detention of some legislative aides and called for their immediate and unconditional release from police detention.

Ndako condemned what he said was the illegal arrest and detention of four legislative aides on account of disrupting the sitting of the House members last week, adding that they were their legislative aides and were arrested at Crusher Village while waiting for their principals who resumed on Thursday.

The lawmaker told journalists in Lokoja that the workers were standing beside the cars of their principals when the police swooped on them and took them away.
He said, “That is why we keep telling the police to work with their own intelligence, and not rely on the one given to them by some people. They have been giving the police wrong information with the intention to destroy the G15.

“The security forces do not have credible information, that is why they arrested wrong people.

“Imagine, the police claimed that the four men our suspected to have come to disrupt our sitting. How can my Personal Assistant who drove me to the assembly complex turn to be a thug?

“After all, our sitting that day was peaceful. Except that the police wanted to lock us out. The police must have acted on a script.”

The Kogi State Police Command had on Thursday disclosed that it has arrested four suspected thugs at Kogi Assembly complex.

While parading the suspects at Command headquarters in Lokoja, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Yakubu Usman, said he had a distress call that thugs have invaded the House Assembly.

Usman stated that it is responsibility of the police to protect lives and property of the people of the state.

One of those arrested, Abdullahi Bako, said he is the Personal Assistant to Ndako, who is representing Lokoja II constituency.

Bako confirmed that they were arrested at Crusher Village where his principal parked his car.

Others arrested along with him are Alhaji Abdullah Yakubu, Adams Danladi, Maukudi Musa and Ibrahim Abdullah.