SAN FRANCISCO, September 23, (THEWILL) – The Chairman of the Nigerian Police Service Commission and a former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mike Okiro, Monday described a controversial former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, as a lair following the latter’s claim in a London court that the former IGP was behind two unsuccessful assassination attempts on his life.
Ribadu during his cross examination on Friday in the assets confiscation hearing of former Delta State Governor James Ibori, inside a Southwark Court, further claimed that the former governor facilitated Okiro’s appointment to the top police job adding that Okiro withdrew the vehicles attached to him.
But Okiro in a statement said there no such attempts on Ribadu’s life. He also defended his appointment as Inspector General of Police.
“My attention has been drawn to comments made about me on page 7 of the Saturday 21st September 2013 issue of the Vanguard Newspapers and Weekly Trust of same day page 5 by Nuhu Ribadu.
“Ribadu went on a course to National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS). He was not posted out of EFCC. His Deputy, Ibrahim Lamorde was acting and holding forth. The vehicle(s) he was using belonged to EFCC where he was chairman for about six years and could not have been withdrawn by the police. The policemen he used as his security were those posted permanently to EFCC.
“Therefore, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) had no role in their internal daily deployment. Thirdly, Ribadu was on course as Assistant Inspector-General of Police and statutorily had to maintain his paraphernalia of security details.
“Nigerians will remember that Ribadu once caused a newspaper publication to be made to the effect that he was attacked and shot at on his way to NIPSS but was saved because he was driving a bullet proof vehicle and the attackers could not stop him.
“He said that he suspected a retired Inspector-General of Police who had been monitoring him. I was then serving as IGP. I was angry that a serving Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) or even any AIG at all or a VIP, for that matter, was shot at and I was not briefed.
“I called him several times to give me details but he refused to pick my calls. I then sent signals to Commissioners of Police (CP) FCT Abuja, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Plateau, the likely state commands where the incident could have taken place. They all replied that no such incident happened in their commands.
Since I could not reach him, I addressed a press conference where I stated that his claim of attack was false…
“Ribadu never came up as directed. For him to turn round now and say that I was involved ‘in attempts to assassinate him’ demonstrated the double speak for which he is shamefully known. He was an AIG under me. Why must I want to assassinate a subordinate officer?” the former IGP said.
“Ribadu said he was there when James Ibori nominated Mike Okiro to be IGP. Well I was not there myself and cannot confirm or refute the claims. I am just hearing it now, for the first time. If he was there did he oppose it? I was appointed IGP on merit and seniority.”
