Senator Misau: Bringing down the image of the Senate

Definitely, these are not the best of times for the Nigerian Senate. This is because,  the most revered, honourable chamber and the highest law making organ of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has been infiltrated by some elements who can best be described as ‘dishonourable and disgruntled’.  This, the leadership of the Senate must act […]

Definitely, these are not the best of times for the Nigerian Senate. This is because,  the most revered, honourable chamber and the highest law making organ of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has been infiltrated by some elements who can best be described as ‘dishonourable and disgruntled’. 

This, the leadership of the Senate must act fast by flushing out such bad elements in order to regain and maintain its ‘distinguished’ status.

The sorry state of the Senate came to the fore recently when a serving senator representing Bauchi Central who is also the Senate Committee chairman on Navy, Senator Isah Hamman Misau, raised spurious allegations against the Nigeria Police Force.  In his allegations, Misau said that the police authorities collect bribe for special promotions. 

As sensitive as the allegation is, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, immediately inaugurated a Special Investigation Panel on August 11, 2017, to investigate the allegations so as to ensure that disciplinary actions are meted out to those who might be found guilty.  

The  terms of reference of the panel include to investigate the complaints from Senator Isah Hamma Misau on allegations that Police officers pay bribe for special promotion; to investigate other complaints, petitions and grievances from Police officers within the Force and from other members of the public on allegations of giving money for promotion, either special or otherwise and to determine the substance of the complaints, petitions and grievances from aggrieved Police officers and members of the public on allegations of giving money for special promotion.

In order to give the Senator the opportunity to meet with the committee face to face and ‘expose further’ the alleged corrupt practices going on in the police force, he was invited, but, unfortunately,  fail to honor the invitation.

“The Special Investigation Panel sent 2 invitation letters to Senator Isah Hamman Misau: (i) for him to meet with the Panel, was sent through the Senate President (ii) while, the other was written directly to him to provide evidence in written form  to substantiate and shed light on his allegations and assist the panel to carry out a thorough and discreet investigation into the matter, but he declined and when some members of the panel visited him, he bluntly refused to make statement on his allegations,” the Force Spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, revealed.

Having refused to utulise the opportunity given to him to speak further on the allegations so that the police can take the appropriate measures to sanitise the system and prevent a recurrence of such corrupt tendencies, (if discovered to be true), he again granted another interivew and called on the Department of State Services (DSS), to probe the Nigeria Police Force and the Police Service Commission (PSC) over alleged of bribery for special promotions. 

He should therefore come out and tell the world the REAL grouse he is having with the Nigeria Police Force. He should come out and tell the world what is his motive and who is sponsoring him.

Olukayode Abayomi, Abuja.