What Wadume’s Confession Has Done To The Nigerian Army – Panel

A trending video of the purported confession of the re-arrested notorious Kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Wadume in police custody, has caused worry among the panel set up to into the strained inter-agency relations between the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Police.

President Muhammadu Buhari had given a directive to the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin to constitute a panel to investigate the killing of three policemen and two civilians in Taraba State by soldiers.

According to the footage, Wadume said after the police officers and civilians were killed, the Army took him to their base and had his handcuffs removed through the help of a welder.

The panel members opined that Wadume’s purported confession had put the military high command in bad light, while adding that the new development should have been ironed out with the police high command since the investigation is ongoing.

The member said: “We are seriously disturbed and alarmed by the latest video on the purported confession of the re-arrested kingpin, Wadume while in the custody of the police.

“Though it is a commendable effort for the re-arrest of the kidnap kingpin, the video recording of the alleged confession of Wadume while the panel is still conducting its investigation is quite worrisome as efforts are being put in place to ensure smooth relations between the military and the police before the offending confession.

“Though our panel was inaugurated on Friday, August 9 which had an initial one-week deadline, we have been mandated to continue and conclude the probe as soon as possible. The arrest of Wadume would definitely shed more light on our investigation considering the volume of arrests and interrogations so far.”

The Joint Security Panel headed by Rear Admiral Ibikunle Olaiya, has representatives of the Police, Army, Navy, Air Force, Department of State Services (DSS) and the Defence Intelligence Agency.