IGP, senators in heated argument

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr.
Ibrahim Idris, yesterday, told a Senate ad-
hoc committee investigating allegations
leveled against him that he would not
respond to questions.

The IGP, who appeared in company with his
lawyer, Alex Izinyon, at about 2.30pm, told
the committee, headed by Senator Francis
Alimikhena, that since the case was already
in court it would be sub judice for him to
respond to questions from lawmakers.
He also claimed that the existence of the
committee was against the Standing Rules
of the Senate.

This is coming at a time supporters of IGP
Idris stormed the National Assembly in
solidarity.
Convener of the protest, Gloria Ugbeji, said
the solidarity march was important based
on the various reforms the police chief had
brought to the service.

When asked question by one of the
senators, the IGP said: “I will not make any
oral comment or answer any question in
respect of the allegations in view of the
various civil and criminal cases pending in
the law courts, more especially when the
senator has already been arraigned in court
in respect of this matter.

“I decided to appear before this Senate
committee on the allegations out of high
respect I have for the Senate and my
respect for the rule of law.

“Furthermore, it is expected that the Senate
and the committee will refrain from making
references to the issues, as it will be
against Order 41 (7) and 53 (5) of the
Senate Standing Orders 2 (15) as
amended.”

Order 1(a) of the Senate Standing Rules
states: “The proceedings in the Senate and
in all committees of the Senate shall be
conducted in accordance with the following
Standing Orders:
Order 41(7) of the Standing Rules states:
“The Senate shall not receive any petition
on any matter for which there is a judicial
remedy.”

Also, Order 53(5) states: “Reference shall
not be made to any matter on which a
judicial decision is pending in such a way
as might, in the opinion of the president of
the Senate, prejudice the interest of parties
thereto.”

IGP Idris’ lawyer had a heated argument
with senators, when he stopped the police
boss from responding to questions raised
by the committee chairman, Alimikhena.

He said: “I represent the IGP. I want to
state that we have very high respect for the
Senate. In pursuant of the invitation, we
decided to be here to demonstrate that we
have nothing to hide. I have gotten
instructions from the IGP. We have
responded to all the allegations raised,
word-to-word, to the committee.

“This is an ad-hoc committee. There are
rules. I am urging you to use your rules. In
October 2015, a similar case arose
between an ad-hoc committee and Rotimi
Amaechi. Ethics committee was asked to
investigate him. Because the case was
before a court in Rivers State, the Senate
suspended it.

“The Standing Rules of the Senate says that
when a case is in court, any reference to it
may be prejudice. Nigerians are interested
in this. We are saying this in the interest of
justice. We are not hiding anything at all. I
am only drawing your attention to
precedents set by the Senate.”
Izinyon’s response did not go down well
with Senator Alimikhena, who responded
angrily. He told Idris and his lawyer that the
committee was set up before they went to
court.

 “You cannot tell us the FCT High Court has
given an order. You cannot come here and
tell us what you know. This is a committee
set up by the Senate. It was set up before
you went to court. The court is interfering
with our work. Let us stick with the truth.

The Senate is not out to witch-hunt
anybody. If you are going to court, it does
not stop the Senate from probing the
virement made by the police boss. You
cannot stop that,” he said.

Izinyon retorted: “The law is clear. If there
is any virement, the Senate will not look at
it. It is a criminal offence and it is not the
Senate that should handle that.”

Senator Hope Uzodinma, who is also a
member of the committee pleaded with
Alimikhena to adjourn the hearing to allow
the committee study the content of the
written response of the IGP.

“I want to caution you. We are all
statesmen in the country. We are all one. If
we must succeed as a country, we must
create a synergy where both arms must
work together. The SAN, you must agree
with me that this is not a law court. You
will do us a favour to resolve differences
between these parties.

“The Standing Rules says ‘if its the opinion
of the Senate president.’ Are you the Senate
president? This matter needs to be resolved
in a manner that Nigerians will be happy. If
we issue a warrant, the IGP will bring
himself. I do not even know why the IGP
cannot speak for himself.

“We want to see the allegations before us
and see how we can resolve them, in the
interest of the country. If the IGP is not in a
position to speak, in my view, he can
submit his defence. We can look into it and
decide how to move forward. This is a
parliament.”
Senator Obinna Ogba also appealed that the
hearing be suspended.

“Having heard what the IGP said, I have
seen some documents we need to study. I
want to appeal to the chairman to give us
time to study the documents and invite the
IGP later,” he said.

Senators Joshua Lidani, Suleiman Hukunyi,
Abdulaziz Nyako and Nelson Effiong who
also spoke, called for an adjournment.
Lidani said: “I think it makes sense for us
to study the documents. From the
chairman’s reaction, it appears the
preliminary objections will not be
entertained. We have just been served this
documents. We will study it. We will
determine if you have been able to address
the issues raised.

“Senator Misau raised the issue because he
said his privileges were abused. It was not
a public petition. We need time to look at
the documents you submitted. If the issues
are not adequately addressed, we will call
you again. If there is no need, we will not
call you. We are not witch-hunting
anybody.”
Effiong, on his part, noted: “The IGP is an
appointee of the president. Whatever the
IGP does speaks volumes of the person of
the president. Let us adjourn to look at the
documents.”

Hukunyi remarked: “I think some key points
have been highlighted, which I completely
align with. One of them is the possibility of
adjourning this meeting. He has read his
own side, rightly or wrongly. The lawyer to
the IGP may have to review some of the
things he said. He said virement is a
criminal offence. He is wrong. The
executive is aware of this fact. It has been
raised that part of the responsibility of this
committee goes beyond the issues that are
now in court. With due respect, as high as
your office is, the nature of the issues
raised is not good for the IGP or the
Senate. These issues need to be cleared.

This is the reason this committee was put
in place.’
Senator Nyako added: “I think all of us
should understand that the attitude here is
not us versus them. We are not here to
witch-hunt the executive. There are issues
that have been raised. We need to address
these allegations. At the end of the day, the
police may even benefit more from this. We
will study your documents and address the
issues.”

Meanwhile, the Senior Special Assistant to
the President on National Assembly Matters
(Senate), Ita Enang, told the committee that
the presidency would explore a multi-door
option in resolving the issue.

“We are glad for the warm reception. We
are not here out of honour. We are here out
of constitutional provisions. We respect the
job and powers of the legislature. We thank
you for inviting us. We also appreciate what
you have said, that you want to have an
adjournment. I am hoping that this
adjournment will pursue other multi-door
options to resolve this issues,” he said.

Alimikhena adjourned the committee’s
sitting indefinitely. He, however, said the
Senate has the power to entertain virement,
saying the issue had nothing to do with the
court.

“Coming here is your duty. When you are
summoned by the parliament, you must
come. It is a not a favour,” he said.
. I want to tell you that the issue of
virement is the function of the parliament. It
is not something that should be handled by
the court.

This committee came up before you went
to court. The court is interfering with our
committee. If we need you again, you will
respond,” he concluded.

In a related development, hundreds of
protesters yesterday took over the entrance
of the National Assembly to show solidarity
with the IGP Idris.

The convener of the protest, Gloria Ugbeji,
said such solidarity march was important
based on the various reforms the police
chief had brought to the service.
She said it was important for IGP Idris to
be “left alone to focus on what he is
doing.”