Bukola Ojeme
24 June 2008
Lagos — THE Minister of Interior, Major General Godwin Abbe (rtd), yesterday, backed the clampdown on supporters of Edo State Governor, Professor Oserheimen Osunbor, by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, in the outskirts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) last week.
Abbe who spoke with journalists in Abuja, however, denied instructing the IG to carry out the action, as insinuated by the governor's loyalists.
Some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members of Governor Osunbor's faction of the state chapter numbering over 1000 were last week stopped from entering into the FCT by the police for allegedly constituting a threat to public peace.
The supporters were ostensibly on their way to the party's national secretariat to attend a meeting to reconcile factions loyal to the Governor and those loyal to former PDP Board of Trustee Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, over sharing of party offices.
But a chieftain of the PDP in the state had accused General Abbe, whose Ministry supervises the Police, of masterminding the alleged clamp down and subsequent arrest of supporters of the governor in Abuja.
Speaking in his own defence, the Interior Minister said the Inspector General acted within the powers conferred on him by the constitution, after appraising the security implication of allowing such a number of unruly party supporters into the Federal Capital.
According to him, "you know the present day politicking. If that crowd was allowed into Abuja and the prouncement of the party leadership was such that, it was very negative, these people would have become irate and they would have taken over the party headquarters.
"The moment tempers rise, what we expect is mayhem and break down of law and order in Abuja. So the attention of the Inspector General of Police was drawn to it and the attention of the Commissioner of Police in FCT was drawn to it, who felt it was absolutely necessary to stop that mob from entering Abuja. After all we must run a state of law and order," he added.
General Abbe insisted that the decision of Governor Osunbor's faction to come to Abuja with seventy-four bus loads of party supporters was a clear breach of the terms of the reconciliatory meeting, which demanded a seven member representation from each camp.
He also dismissed as incorrect, allegations that 500 supporters of the governor were clamped into detention, describing the allegation as unfortunate, saying, "if there are 500 detainees in Abuja, where are they detained?"
"Are they in the streets or are they in prisons? If anybody knows where they are detained, they should tell us. It is not enough to start writing President Umaru Yar'Adua to go and free citizens in detention," he said.
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