The Nigeria police have insisted that the attack on the APO residence of the Deputy President of the Senate Ike Ekweremadu widely reported as an assassination attempt on the life of the lawmaker and his family, remains a case of burglary and house breaking according to police investigation so far even as they debunked allegation of cover up by the police.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood in a statement during a briefing in Abuja, said the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has ordered the upgrade of the APO Legislative quarters Police post which was hitherto under the control of National Assembly Division to a Divisional Police Headquarters to be manned by a Divisional Police Officer (DPO). He noted that other Divisions created by the Inspector General of Police include, a Divisional Police Headquarters for the Supreme Court, Divisional Police Headquarters at Kabusa, Divisional Police Headquarters at Galadimawa, Divisional Police Headquarters at TrademoreEstate.
In the statement entitled ” update on Investigation into the case of burglary (house breaking at night time) And attempt to commit robbery in the residence of Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu “, Jimoh said the change is done to reduce crime and criminalities in the affected areas and improve Police visibility in the Federal capital Territory.
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The Police said further the principal suspects ;Mohammed Yusuf (of no fixed address) but a native of Kauranamuda, Zamfara State hasbeen arrested and remains in Police custody,while One Ali (other name unknown) is at large and wanted by the Police.
The police also displayed exhibits such as ;Motor Jack; Big Screw Driver; A big Rod that broke out from the window of the kitchen to the house; A Black Small Touch Light; A small kitchen knife from the residence picked at the scene.
Jimoh who specified that the general duties of the police as specified by Section 4 of the Police Act makes it mandatory for the police to deploy all within their arsenal to fight crime in the country.
“It will be recalled that the residence of Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu on No 2, Jim Nwobodo Street, APO Legislative Quarters was broken into by Mohammed Yusuf of Kauranamuda, Zamfara State, who was arrested at the scene and now in Police custody along with one Ali (other name unknown) who escaped from the scene at about 0430hrs of today, 6th November, 2018.
“Police further investigation into the crime and the interrogation of the principal suspect, Mohammed Yusuf of Kauranamuda who volunteered confessional statement admitting to the crime and mentioned one Ali (other name unknown) now at large, who escaped from the scene to have carried out the crime along with him revealed that the suspects have no knowledge that the house belong to the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and were not armed with any firearm or lethal weapon during the burglary (house breaking at night time). The police also said the attack was also an attempt to commit robbery in the residence of Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu but with the following exhibits,” Jimoh said.
Jimoh said further that investigation carried out so far did not reveal assasination attempt on the life of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his family but a case of burglary (house breaking at night time) and attempt to commit robbery in the residence of Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
He said that for the avoidance of doubt, Sections 346 and 347 of the Penal Code Law are explicit on the ingredients and facts to prove house breaking and house breaking at night as follows:
“Sections 346: A person is said to commit house breaking who commits house trespass if he effects his entrance into the house or any part of it or if being in the house or any part of it for the purpose of committing an offence or having committed an offence therein, he quit the house or any part of it any of such six ways, that is to say;
” If he enters or quits through a passage made by himself or any abettor of the house trespass in order to commit the housetrespass; If he enters or quits through any passage not intended by any person other than himself or an abettor of the offence, for human entrance or through any passage to which he has obtained access by scaling or climbing over the wall or building; If he enters or quits through any passage which he or any abettor of the house trespass has opened in order to commit the house trespass by any means by which that passage was not intended by the occupier of the house to beopened If he enters or quits by opening any lock in order to commit the house trespass or in order to quit the house after a housetrespass, If he effects his entrance or departure by using criminal force or committing an assault or by threatening any person with assault, and If he enters or quits by any passage which he knows to have been fastened against such entrance or departure and to have been unfastened by himself or by an abettor of the house trespass”.
The police officer also said that according Sections 347 of the Police Act that whoever commits house breaking between sunset and sunrise is said to have commit house breaking by night.
” Consequent on the above, it is evident that nothing is an offence except what the law stipulates to be an offence. The further investigation has taken the Police to revisit the scene of crime along with the suspect who explained and showed the Police investigators and recorded in camera of how the crime “burglary (house breaking at night time) and attempt to commit robbery in the residence of Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu” was committed,” Jimoh said.
The Police spokesman stated that the Son to the Deputy Senate President, Barr. Lloyd Ekweremadu who was the person intercepted by the suspects in the residence has made voluntary statement to the Police describing how he took the suspects to knock on his father’s room instead of his own room as demanded by the suspects.
The police added that Barr. Lloyd Ekweremadu gave the suspects the impression that it was his wife that is in the room he was knocking.
The police said that Lyoyd had said “honey open the door” “it is me junior and I am here with some men and I’m at gun point,” which was to give his parent a lead up that something was going wrong before his father now opened the door and the intruders were taken off guard. According to the police Ekweremadu’s son then proceeded to grab the principal suspect (now in custody). “In this process, one of the two (2) suspects Mohammed Yusuf was over powered and arrested while the second suspect One Ali (othername unknown) now at large escaped. The house breaking implements mentioned above were recovered from them,” the police said.
The police said investigation is still ongoing and effort is being intensified to arrest the other suspect at large. The police added that the same suspects had earlier at about 0300Hrs of same date broken into the residence of one Mr. Haliru Adamu of No. 38 Denis Osadebey Crescent, APO Legislative quarters where they stole phones, jewelleries and other valuables before proceeding to the residence of the Deputy Senate President. Mr.Haliru Adamu was said to have made statements to the Police about the incident.
“There was no any cover-up by the Police in the investigation of the crime that occurred in the residence of the Deputy Senate President. The Four (4) Police personnel and One (1) personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps on duty at the residence of the Deputy Senate President at the time of the incidence have been arrested and are still in detention and being investigated for negligent acts and dereliction of duty. It is also not correct that Police responded after seven (7) hours, the residence of the Deputy Senate President share fence with the APOLegislative quarters Police post.
“The Nigeria Police Force calls for patience and understanding from the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and the Senate of Federal Republic of Nigeria to allow the Police to carry out a thorough and discreet investigation into the incident and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice,” Jimoh said.
