The Kaduna Police Command has debunked the allegation made by the immediate past governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai, that his ex-commissioner for Local Government and Education, Jafaru Sani, was abducted by a police kidnapping gang linked to Governor Uba Sani.
The command described El-Rufai’s allegation as unfounded, false, and misleading. It stated that it does not have any kidnapping gang as alleged by the former governor.
El-Rufai had in a statement he posted on his X handle on Thursday, alleged that Jafaru was abducted by a kidnapping gang claiming to be the police and immediately remanded in prison custody by a magistrate court.
He claimed that the former commissioner was arrested and remanded in prison custody by a magistrate without any police first information report or charges by the Kaduna State Ministry of Justice.
The former governor alleged that Jafaru’s real crime was his resignation from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and joining the Social Democratic Party (SDP), as well as having been proposed by El-Rufai as his replacement ministerial nominee representing Kaduna State in August 2023.
The former FCT minister further claimed that Jafaru is being charged with money laundering, a federal offense that neither the State Judiciary nor even the Police have jurisdiction to adjudicate or investigate.
But reacting to El-Rufai’s allegation in a statement, the Public Relations Officer of the Kaduna State Police Command, Mansir Hassan, said the Command does not have any kidnapping gang, as there is no such in existence in the Nigerian Police Force.
He stated that the police as an institution established by law is mandated by the Constitution to maintain law and order which include protection of lives and property of the citizens.
The statement said that the police in carrying out their constitutional duties, have the legal, legitimate and constitutional right to arrest and investigate whoever suspected to have committed an offence.
“Individuals, corporate organisations and government, etc have the Constitutional right to lodge a formal complaint to the police while the police have the mandate to investigate such allegations, and when it’s believed that an offence has been committed such matter will be prosecuted or referred to the court,” he said.
The police there, urged the public, especially individuals who have held positions of authority, to exercise caution and desist from frivolous and malicious allegations against any security agency.
“We urged individuals to always verify allegations before making any public statements, noting that making unverified allegations against security agencies not only misleads the public but also has the potential of undermining the law enforcement agencies.
“Citizens are encouraged to seek legal redress if they feel aggrieved, rather than resort to inflammatory comments that will heat the polity.”
