Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the
house of representatives, has asked the police to ensure the safety of Dino
Melaye, senator representing Kogi west senatorial district.
Melaye has been a running battle
with the Nigeria police force since he was accused of supplying arms to some
arrested suspects.
The senator’s attempt to escape
from police custody landed him in hospital, and charges were filed against him
one week later.
On Thursday, he was brought
before a Kogi court which denied him bail. He is to spend 39 days in custody.
At the house plenary, Sunday
Karimi from Kogi called on the house to intervene in the senator’s travails.
Karimi had said: “Melaye is being
prosecuted because of this belief. And as members of national assembly, we
cannot continue to keep quiet. There is need for us to act and prevail on the
IG on the issue.”
But Dogara said the matter is
already being deliberated on the floor of the senate and being a “motion of
personal explanation”, the house cannot debate on it.
He, however, frowned at the
decision of the police to arraign the senator before a court while on a
stretcher.
“All I can say is that nothing
must happen to the senator. If anybody in this country has committed an
offence, the law is there for the person to he prosecuted or arraigned within
the ambit of the law,” he said.
“So my admonition to the security
agencies is to do everything possible to ensure that his life is secure first
before prosecution. Prosecution cannot come at the expense of death.
“And that is very important,
because if anything happens to him, squarely the responsibility will lie on the
security agents. And that is without mincing words.”
Dogara said he is yet to see a
country where someone will be arraigned on a stretcher “when he is not even in
the right frame of mind to even take a plea”.
“So of what use is it taking
someone to court when he cannot plead guilty or not guilty? What is more
important is health first, before he is even tried,” he added.
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Mr Dogara sir, pls u people should not used ur positions to cover criminal activities going round the country. As a law maker u know n I know no body I mean no body is above the law so pls let ur children follow the good side of u people so that we can achieve a better future in the years to come. Thank u
ReplyDeleteIs Dino bigger than any other Nigerian?
ReplyDeleteIs any senator of Rep above the law?
I do not understand the above the law stand of these so called senators and Reps. They keep flexing power like they are different from common Nigerians Police harasses everyday
Abeggy