By; MOHAMMED KAWU, Bauchi.
The Immediate Past Governor of Bauchi State, Mallam Isa Yuguda has alleged that Police had violated his fundamental human rights by putting him under house arrest, intimidation and harassment of his Bauchi residents during his last visit to the state.
“The Bauchi State Police Command collaborated with the Bauchi State government in a calculated plot to embarrass and humiliate me before a multitude of my supporters in the state who trooped out to welcome me home after more than a year’s absence from the country”, he said
The former governor made the allegations through his spokesman and his former commissioner of information in the state, Alhaji Salisu Ahmed Barau, while talking to journalists in Bauchi, saying his boss was over a year outside the country on medical check-up which ailment he declined to disclose.
Yuguda added, “The police violates my fundamental human right and intimidated me, I have been put under 12-hour house arrest on November 24 in Bauchi by the Bauchi State Police Command when I visits home after medical treatment abroad”
He further stated, “Since I was not going for any public procession or political rally, so it had nothing to do with the order given by state government and the police”.
“I left for Bauchi on November 24 accompanied by the 10 mobile policemen from the IGP Office. To my utter shock, neither the Bauchi CP nor his men were at the airport to give me security which was against the IGP’s directive”.
“The crowd of supporters at the airport surged and became uncontrollable, I become feared for the safety of the surging crowd, while another tumultuous crowd we learnt was eagerly waiting at home, so we drove straight to my house near the Government House where after few hours the CP suddenly called and asked me to remain in the house”.
“Then I asked the CP if I was under house arrest to which he replied in the affirmative. I accused the CP for putting me under illegal forceful imprisonment”
“The next thing we saw was that the CP sent his men to cordon off and barricade my house for many hours until the authorities in Abuja later ordered him to dislodge the barricade and ensure that he escorts me to any part of Bauchi”.
“As a former governor if I should be treated this way by the police, what more of ordinary Nigerian citizen. It is a pity the system is a mess, I’m not the only former governor who visited home, we have them many who always visit their home state, why my own is exceptional ” he quarried
Yuguda said “that is why I support and adopted the motion by Representative Ahmed Yerima (Bauchi), which the House mandated its committee on police affairs to probe the matter and report back in four weeks for further action”
Representative Ahmed Yerima had in the motion alleged that the Bauchi State Police Command harasses citizens at will. He recalled that the state police command recently harassed and intimidated a former governor of the state, Malam Isa Yuguda.
Reacting over the issue the Bauchi State police command spokesperson, SP Haruna Mohammed said the police only acted on the intelligence they received to do what they did.
“We have access to intelligence and we acted on it. It is our routine security measure to avert any breakdown of law and order because we have reports that some people are planning to disrupt the peace in the state,” he said.
