Police detain Katsina NCP Chairman over press briefing

The police on Wednesday arrested the Chairman of the National Conscience Party(NCP) in Katsina state, Abulmumini SheuSani. ShehuSani told the PUNCH at the headquarters of Katsina police command on Thursday that he was arrested in connection with the press conference he held on Sunday where he called for an investigation into Katsina state Governorship election petitions tribunal's verdict on the last March Gubernatorial election.

“ My detention is in connection with that press conference I called,” he said during a brief encounter with him at the police headquarters.

A senior police officer who pleaded for anonymity said the NCP Chairman might likely be arraigned in a court later in the day. The officer refused to disclose the reason for the detention nor the court where he would be arraigned.

The officer said “We shall arraign him based on the statement he would make to us but definitely we are arraigning him before a competent court today(Thursday).

The state commissioner of police, Sanusi Buba and the spokesman, SP Gambo Isah were out of the state to Yenagoa and Abuja respectively on official assignments while efforts to reach them on phone proved abortive.

Punch recalls that the NCP chairman held a press conference on Sunday in Katsina, where he called for a high-level investigation on the circumstances surrounding last September’s verdict of the state governorship election petitions tribunal which validated the election of Governor Aminu Masari of the All Progressives Congress.

The three-member election petitions tribunal was under the chairmanship of Justice Hadiza Ali-Jos. Other members of the tribunal are Justices Dele Omotosho and Augustine Ityonuyiman.

ShehuSanni alleged that some members of the tribunal might have compromised themselves before the verdict was given.

The NCP Chairman specifically called on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Chief Justice of the Federation, the President of the court of Appeal, the Inspector General of police as well as the various anti-graft agencies in the country to investigate the tribunal.

He declared "I hereby call on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; the Chief Justice of the Federation; the President of the courts of Appeal; the Inspector General of the police; the National Director, Department of State Service; the Economic and Financial Crime Commission(EFCC);the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission(ICPC), the Attorney General of the Federation, to as a matter of urgency, to investigate this high level corruption.”