By Mumini AbdulKareem
The Senator representing Kwara South at the National Assembly, Dr. Rafiu Ibrahim on Tuesday, recounted his ordeal following his five days detention at the Kwara State Police Command.
Ibrahim was detained last week Thursday over his alleged role in the attack of his opponent and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the senatorial election, Arch Lola Ashiru.
In a telephone chat with our reporter, Senator Ibrahim maintained his innocence over the issue while also emphasizing that he has never been a violent person.
According to him, he never had the courage to lie against his fellow creature talk less of inflicting injury on another person.
He described the issue as an act of God adding that it became apparent while in the police custody that he was incarcerated because of the election.
Recounting his experience, he said “I was not actually arrested. They wrote me a letter that I should come for a security chat and when I demanded from the officer that signed the letter who is the OC SIB, he told me that they want to chat with the two of us (me and Lola Ashiru) to have peace on the election day.
“I went to the command 4pm on Thursday after I received their letter same day. I went to the office of the Commissioner of Police but was told he had gone for an assignment in respect of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo who was in Ilorin that day.
“The OC SIB now came and said I should make a voluntary statement not under caution which I did. Before you know it, they said somebody was calling me again at the State CID. They took me there and insisted I should write another statement now under caution. I am not familiar with their terms because I have never been to a police station all my life even before I ventured into politics.
“I don’t believe in violence and I have never been involved in violence as an advocate of Bukola Saraki’s School of Politics. Mine is to strategise and deploy resources at my disposal (to win election) but not preaching or inciting violence.
“That was how I was detained from 4pm on Thursday till yesterday (Monday) that I got the magnanimity of the judiciary again as usual which held that the offence is a bailable one and that I was not supposed to be detained in the first place.
“To me, this is an experience and I have taken it as an act of God. But for the records, it is very clear that I was just taken out of circulation with that action by the police because of the election. There was a time they were saying I have been released on Friday and the APC urchins even spread the rumour on social media but I was not until yesterday (Monday). I thank God for that.”
He said his experience at the police custody expose the politicisation of the police by the ruling government for selfish reasons.
“My take is that aside the fact that the government is using Nigerian police, probably coercing them to use them for politics, I don’t think Nigerian police is very bad in my dealing with human beings who are working there. The Nigerian Police is not a rotten institution; it depends on who is at the helms of affairs. My experience was very clear that they were being coerced by the APC to do what they did to me”.
He urged the party supporters to be calm adding that the present situation in the dynasty will be a phase to a greater grace.
“I don’t believe we have lost and I don’t feel any sense of loss maybe because I was incarcerated and not allowed to fight the last battle, I could not feel that I have failed, I was put aside by the forces of government in the ruling party.”
Ibrahim said he remains a core party man and will go with whatever decision the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wants to take regarding the outcome of the poll.
On what next for him, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking and Finance, said he will continue to serve his people who have given him the chance to represent them at the National Assembly.
“I am a politician and serving senator and I am still serving my people diligently and will continue to do so even after I am out of office. I have said it that my service to the people will remain till I die. There are many ways of serving the people of Kwara and that is what I would teach almost everybody around me.
“Now that they have given me the opportunity to be their senator, it has given me some leverage in the society to be able to help as little as I can and I will continue to do that to the grace of Almighty God”, he submitted.
