The Nigeria Police Force is to declare Senator Dino Melaye and Mohammed Audu wanted should they fail to appear before the Federal High Court, Lokoja, March 28

Senator Dino Melaye may soon fall into the police net should he fail to appear before the Federal High Court in Lokoja on March 28. Melaye is being charged along with Mohammed Audu and two other suspects in a case of unlawful possession of arms brought against them by the Nigeria police.

Melaye’s recent trouble started with the arrest of two suspected armed robbers – Kabiru Saidu and Nuhu Salisu, who alleged that he gave them gun and money.

A statement by Moshood Jimoh, Force public relations officer said that working on actionable intelligence, the Kogi State Police Command personnel and operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad trailed and arrested two suspects, namely Saidu a.k.a OSAMA, 31, From Dekina LGA but based in Anyagba (Leader of the gang) and Salisu a.k.a SMALL, 25, a member of the gang), after a gun battle with the Police team that lasted for some hours on January 19 at Ogojueje in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State.

During investigation, the suspects confessed to the various criminal roles they played in the commission of several kidnappings and armed robbery, murder and other violent crimes in different parts of Kogi State for which they have been on the wanted list of the Police for more than two years now.

Kabiru revealed that he and his gang have been working as a political thug for one Audu, a politician in the State who invited him to Abuja and introduced him to Melaye and they met on Airport road, Abuja, inside the Senator’s Car in the month of December 2017.

He also confessed to the police investigative team that Melaye handed over a bag containing the following firearms one (1) AK47 rifle, two (2) Pump Action guns and the sum of four hundred and thirty thousand naira N430,000.00 to share with his boys. The Police conducted investigation into the criminal indictments against Sen. Dino Melaye and Mohammed Audu and discovered that the two (2) of them have case to answer. The two (2) suspects namely; KABIRU SAIDU a.k.a OSAMA and NUHU SALISU a.k.a SMALL were paraded at the Kogi State Command Headquarters, Lokoja on 19^th March, 2018.

The statement recalled that consequent on the confession of criminal offences indicting Senator Dino Melaye by the principal suspect, Saidu, the police sent a letter of investigation activities/invitation dated March 2, addressed to the Senate President, Federal Republic of Nigeria informing and requesting him to release Senator Dino Melaye to report to Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Command on the March 7, to answer  to criminal offences of Conspiracy and Unlawful Possession of  Prohibited Firearms levelled against him, to enable the its team carryout a discreet and thorough investigation into the case. But Senator Dino Melaye refused to honour the Police invitation.

According to the Statement, based on evidence gathered so far in the matter, a case of criminal conspiracy and unlawful possession of prohibited firearms was filed by the Nigeria Police Force at Federal High Court Lokoja on March 16, against the two principal suspects,  Melaye and Audu. “But Senator Dino Melaye and Alh. Mohammed Audu refused to appear in court on Tuesday, 20^th March, 2018 when the trial supposed to commence. This prompted the court to issue a criminal summon on Senator Dino Melaye and Alh. Mohammed Audu to appear in court on Wednesday, 28^th March, 2018,” it said.

“As we speak, Sen. Dino Melaye despite the letter sent to the Senate President as mentioned in Paragraph 5 above, refused to honour Police Invitation till date and also refused to appear in court and has also continued to evade the service of criminal summon on him to appear before the Federal High Court, Lokoja on the 28^th March, 2018 to answer to the charge of Criminal Conspiracy and unlawful possession of prohibited firearms against him and Mohammed Audu.

“The Nigeria Police Force is therefore using this medium to advise Senator Dino Melaye and Mohammed Audu in their interest to comply with the order of the court and appear on 28^th March, 2018 before Federal High Court, Lokoja to answer to the criminal charges against them.

“If they continue to be evasive and fail to comply with criminal summon issued on them by the Federal High Court, Lokoja to appear on 28^thMarch, 2018 to answer to the criminal charges ofConspiracy and Unlawful Possession of Prohibited Firearms against them, the Force, will obtain Warrant of Arrest for the arrest of Senator Dino Melaye and Mohammed Audu and will definately declare them wanted throughout the country and on INTERPOL platform for them to be arrested in any country where ever they are sighted and handed over to the Nigeria Police Force for continuation of their trial.

“The Nigeria Police Force will continue to sustain the rule of law and maintain law and order throughout the country,” it said.

– Mar. 24, 2018 @ 6:00 GMT |