Senator Abaribe
Contrary to reports, the Nigerian Senator representing Abia South senatorial district in the country’s Senate, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe who was arrested on Friday by the Department of State Services, DSS has not been released from detention. Africanewscircle sources said operatives of the DSS rather “brought him along to do a search of his house on Saturday in an exercise that took four hours to complete and took him away at the end of the search.”
Though the DSS gave no reasons for his arrest, a flurry of public reactions held that the senator was being harassed for his unwavering criticism of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari whom he once described as “incompetent”. The senator had also on Thursday, questioned an illegal additional padding of N30 billion Naira to the Power ministry’s budget by the executive arm just before the announcement of the budget by the president. The controversial budget increase was never authorized in the budget passed by the country’s National Assembly as it was not among the items presented to the National Assembly as budgetary estimates.
Abaribe, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy, had noted that the N30 billion was smuggled into the Power budget as announced by the president without his committee’s knowledge. His revelation of the padding could invalidate the entire document.
It was also held in some circles that his arrest was closely related to the disappearance of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu who have not been seen since the Nigerian army invaded his home last year and whose bail was facilitated by the senator before the home invasion by the army.
Reacting to the arrest of Senator Abaribe, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohaneze Ndi Igbo demand his immediate release in a statement circulated to the media. The full text of the release read signed by Ohaneze’s President-General, Chief John Nnia Nwodo read:
“The circumstances prevailing at the time of the disappearance of Nnamdi Kanu are beyond the contemplation of the law that a surety can guarantee the production of an accused person.
The army in the name of “Operation Python Dance” invaded Nnamdi’s home and destabilized normalcy there.
It is only the security agency that can disclose Nnamdi’s whereabout.
Senator Abaribe has no capacity, nor has any surety in the circumstances to know the whereabouts of Nnamdi Kanu.
What happened in Umahia was an invasion, a war of a kind.
Nnamdi may have been killed or captured in the imbroglio or even escaped into hiding.
The onus lies on the security forces to disclose his whereabout.
The judiciary is beginning to tow the line of the executive by throwing the law overboard in matters that affect the South East.
We are all equal before the law.
Senator Abaribe must be released forthwith.”
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