Senate Wants Melaye’s Security Details Restored Without Further Delay

Senator Dino Melaye. (Photo credit: File photo)

The Federal Government have been asked on Wednesday to restore Sen. Dino Melaye’s (APC-Kogi) security details immediately.

The Senator said his security details were withdrawn by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Idris Ibrahim, shortly before his arrest on April 23.

He made this known  while raising a Point-of-Order at plenary adding that his life is in danger with the absence of his security details.

“While we ask that Nigerians should be defended, we ourselves here also ask to be defended.

“I announce that the police withdrew security details attached to me even before I was arrested and till date, I have no security.

“I applied to the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps two months ago to no avail even as a citizen and not a senator.

“President Muhammadu Buhari as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces by his office is supposed to protect me.

“I now call that this senate must make sure that the way Nigerians all over are protected, some of us also have to be protected.

“I survived two assassination attempts and there is imminent threat to my life now.

“I read and watched the spokesperson of the Nigerian Police, Mr Jimoh Moshood, when he announced to Nigerians that 30,000 policemen will be in Ekiti to observe, monitor and provide security for the governorship election.

“To start with, election is a civic responsibility and we have consistently maintained as democrats that we need not militarise, scare or create fear during elections,” Melaye said.

Melaye criticised the Nigerian police for deploying about 30,000 Police to oversee the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State, wondering why the these deployed officers cannot be deployed to crisis torn states in the country to ensure peace and stability in such state.

“Election is important but not as important as the lives of Nigerians.

“We cannot as senators allow democracy to become ‘militariocracy’.

“If we die in the line of defending the constitution and human rights, we have died well.

“We cannot sit down in a democracy and allow contents and materials of militariocracy to show face in our democracy,” Melaye said.
The Deputy Senate President, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over plenary, said that the essential thing was for the policemen to discharge their duty deligently.
“My appeal is that if you are deploying one million policemen to Ekiti they must be seen on the ground so that the protection of life and property must be ensured.
“We must be sure that those policemen are available to do the job,” he said.