Fave Semali, a deputy commissioner of police, has been transferred from his post after he invited for questioning John Oyegun, the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Premium Times learnt that Semali was investigating an allegation of forgery against Oyegun and other APC leaders.
Christopher Anirah, who won the Sapele/Okpe/Uwvie Federal Constituency ticket of the APC at the primary held on December 7, accused Oyegun and Otega Emerhor, the party’s governorship candidate in Delta state, of falsifying his death. Anirah’s name was reportedly replaced with that of another member of the party, Gibson Akporehe.
Premium Times obtained a letter bearing the signature and name of Oyegun dated January 20, attached with a forged death certificate and other documents. The letter had been reportedly sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to effect the substitution.
The INEC eventually replaced Anirah on March 27, allegedly following intense pressure from APC leaders including Oyegun.
The invitation
On April 29 Fave Semali, the officer who was inquiring into the matter, invited Oyegun for questioning as part of the investigation. However, two days after writing the letter, the police officer was suddenly transferred out of the zone to Lagos state, under the Zone 2 zonal command, by Solomon Arase, the inspector general of police (IGP).
According to a senior police officer who has followed the case, the transfer was allegedly because of Semali’s ‘temerity’ to summon the national chairman of the APC.
Semali washed his hands of the investigation and resumed duty in Lagos on May 19. Since then the case has been stalled and not handed to another officer to continue the investigation.
Apart from police sources, the accuser Anirah also shared his thoughts about the matter:
“It was Oyegun that called the IGP after he was invited for interrogation that he should be helped to evade investigation because he is a national chairman of APC that will soon become the ruling party.
“The IGP who earlier approved that my petition should be treated then bowed to pressure and intimidation.”
When contacted, Oyegun refused to comment. The APC chairman said that he and his party were busy with the transition process rather than responding to “allegations of somebody I have never seen in my life”.
Emmanuel Ojukwu, a police spokesperson, said that he was not aware of the transfer. However, he noted that “transfer in the police is a routine exercise at the discretion of the IGP and therefore affected officer’s transfer should not be linked with any investigation.”
READ MORE: http://www.naij.com/445564-deputy-commissioner-of-police-transferred-from-his-post.html