The attention of the governorship candidate of the
All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the April general elections in Abia
state, Dr. Alex Otti, has been drawn to the unwarranted reaction of Gov. Okezie
Ikpeazu to the attack on a private guest house in Abuja, where Otti stays by
unknown gunmen in the early hours of Friday.
Ikpeazu’s quick rush to the media with the findings
of his investigation barely 24 hours after the attack and ahead of the
conclusion of police investigation, was a mere attempt to politicize the fatal
incident, which claimed the life of a policeman on duty at the guest house.
His unguarded comments on the unfortunate incident
become more worrisome and suspicious, considering that the police authorities
have already confirmed the incident to newsmen, while they have also commenced
investigation in earnest to uncover the perpetrators of the dastardly act.
The hasty reaction further raises a fundamental
question as to whose interest Ikpeazu was desperate to defend, since Otti in
his press briefing on the incident did not point accusing finger at him or his
administration but strongly wished that the police investigation would help to
expose the masterminds of the attack.
In Dr. Otti's press conference, he didn't want to
give details of the location of the guest house since the police is still
investigating the matter. However, in the haste to divert attention, Ikpeazu
correctly disclosed the location as Nest Oil offices and went ahead to lie that
Otti's guest house was close to the location, quoting the Force Public
Relations Officer. To the best of our knowledge, Police have not given any
verdict about the incident, yet, Dr.
Ikpeazu, from his own investigation, was hasty to declare it an armed robbery
attack. For the avoidance of doubt, the guest house is part of the building
housing Nest Oil Offices.
While we will not attempt to speak for the police,
we want to make bold to affirm that the police could not have told Ikpeazu
anything different from our account of the incident. It stands to reason that
since Dr. Otti did not disclose the location of the property attacked in his
press briefing, yet, the address is known to Dr. Ikpeazu, who also declared the
motive as armed robbery, the proper thing the police should do is to invite him
to assist in their investigation given his obvious knowledge of facts.
The assailants also left the residence when they
failed to meet anybody and did not remove any item. It is therefore important
to establish the issue of suspected robbery attack as Dr. Ikpeazu would like
the world to believe.
Ikpeazu’s conclusion that Otti’s claim of an
assassination attempt on his life was designed to whip up sentiment showed that
he has carried out and concluded an investigation on the attack and has more
information that can be useful to the police in their own investigation. His comments were not only repugnant to good
conscience but exposed his deep interest in the attack.
The Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, is
therefore implored to invite Gov. Ikpeazu to avail the police with vital
information that would help the police to get to the root of the attack.
Ikpeazu also goofed when he accused Otti of trying
‘’to attract the sympathy of the security agencies and the electoral tribunal’’
to his petition in the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in
Umuahia, challenging his (Ikpeazu) declaration as the governor.
Also, his postulation that Otti was trying to
influence the tribunal to move its sitting to Abuja on account of insecurity in
Abia state was simply absurd and unintelligible, since common sense shows that
Otti cannot allege a threat to his life in Abuja and at the same time attempt
to influence a relocation of the tribunal to the same city where he was
attacked.
It is difficult to ascertain any cogent reason,
other than those fabricated by Ikpeazu, that Otti in his respectable social and
political standing within and outside Nigeria would want to associate himself
with a fatal, dastardly and criminal act, which according to Ikpeazu’s "police
source", happened at a location outside Otti's residence.
Ikpeazu made other disparaging and contemptuous comments about the matter in
the tribunal and as an enlightened citizen, Otti would rather not respond to
those as he believes that it is only the
learned judges of the tribunal that can make pronouncements on the
matter and not Ikpeazu who is a
respondent.
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