Police invites Sen. Buruji Kashamu over alleged threat to kill Adebutu

The Police have invited the representative of Ogun East Senatorial District, Senator Buruji Kashamu, for questioning over allegations of threat to life lodged against him by a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu....


Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, disclosed this in his written address to a counter-affidavit filed in a fundamental rights enforcement suit by Kashamu.

The affidavit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/647/2016 described the suit as speculative and an attempt by Kashamu to among others restrain the police from performing its statutory responsibilities of investigating criminal allegations against him.

Idris urged the court to dismiss the suit as it was capable of sending wrong signals.

The counter-affidavit reads in parts: “Both the applicant and the 3rd respondent (Adebutu) have made allegations of crime against each other and it is the duty of the 1st respondent (IGP) to investigate and make findings.

“This court cannot restrain the 1st respondent (Idris) from investigating one and leaving the other on the speculation and imagination of the applicant that he will be arrested and transported to America, more so, when the 3rd respondent has not made such allegation against the applicant.

“We urge this court to dismiss the suit as being speculative and portends danger for the criminal justice in Nigeria if persons alleged of committing crime as serious as attempted assassination are shielded from investigation on mere conjecture as being sought in this case.

This will breed anarchy and impunity in Nigeria where the government is doing everything to eliminate cases of politically-motivated assassination.

“This court cannot assume the criminal investigative power of the police to investigate the allegations made against each other in exhibits P1 and P2 (the petitions by Adebutu and Kashamu to the police). It is after the police have performed this role that the court will be called upon to adjudicate on the matter.”

Adebutu had in his petition dated August 22 alleged among others that Kashamu led about 50 thugs to attack him and almost killed him a night before the botched national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

Kashamu, in his counter-petition dated August 26, denied Adebutu’s allegation, accusing him of being encouraged to smear his image by some chieftains of the PDP in the South West.