SUNRISE NEWS, Kogi, Oct 4, 2020 A magistrate court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, has ordered the remand of a traditional ruler, Alhaji Nasiru Momoh and 30 others in Adavi Local Government Area (LGA) of the state, at the Koton-Karfe Correctional Center.
The court on Friday ordered the remand of Momoh, a Second Class traditional ruler and the 30 others, who had earlier been detained by the police allegedly on the orders of the Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to the Governor on Security, Mr. Omuya.
Momoh and the 30 others were arrested and detained at the state Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Lokoja.
The Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), William Aya, had on Friday, confirmed the development, but refused to shed more light on the circumstances surrounding their arrest.
Aya, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), had simply said that those arrested must have ran afoul of the law.
Investigations showed that Momoh, who is the Asema Uka (Otumi-Ajoko) and the others were said to have raised the alarm over alleged imposition of an unpopular candidate by the All Progressives Congress (APC) hierarchy, ahead of the planned council elections in the state, which according to them could ignite crisis in the area.
Another source however claimed that some unnamed party leaders were becoming uncomfortable seeing the traditional ruler and other party stalwarts muster support for a chairmanship aspirant that is not the “anointed candidate of the governor.”
The Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission (KSIEC) has slated LG election for December 12.
The council leader who is the Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to the Governor on Security, Omuya is said to have ordered their detention, since last Tuesday.
Others remanded on Friday include the immediate past chairman of the council, Alhaji Ajoge Enesi, one Abdullahi Aliyu, a retired Army officer and the council youth leader.
Aya, the state police spokesman, had said that they must have ran afoul of the law to have been arrested in the first place, adding that he had not been properly briefed on the matter.