Police replies Senator Goje, says files, laptop it took not inclusive of 2017 budget
*Vows to tender video evidence
*We have capacity to arrest Goje if he fails to honour police invitation – Moshood
*Says nobody is above the law
38 Files retrieved from Goje’s house include those on executive briefs on how to fight opposition in Gombe State, strategies and tactics; Envelops containing permit to operate as an Oil Industry Service Company; Write-ups on how Governor Shekarau plotted assassination of Sheikh Jafaru
The Nigeria Police has replied a former Governor of Gombe State and Senator representing Gombe Central, Senator Abdullahi Danjuma Goje, over his claim that it should be held responsible for the alleged ‘missing’ of the 2017 budget.
The Police explained confirmed that it took 38 files and a laptop all of which were signed for and witnessed by three members of the Senators’ household including the housekeeper, a cousin and assistant of the Senator.
Goje, whose house was recently raided by the Police, is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations.
In a motion of personal explanation raised on the floor on Wednesday, the Senator said, the Police, in addition to the sum of N18m cash retrieved from over 50 occupants of his residence, also took away his laptop computer and 18 office files, where the 2017 Appropriation Bill was being worked upon.
Replying to the allegation in a statement issued Wednesday night by the Force PRO, Moshood Jimoh, the Nigeria Police described the claim as false and misleading.
Moshood Jimoh, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), said, “The report in its entirety is false, misleading and capable of misinforming Nigerians about the statutory roles and duties of the Nigeria Police Force as provided under Sections 4 & 28 of Police Act and Regulations, which includes prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of offenders, the preservation of law and order, the protection of life and property and the due enforcement of all laws and regulations, and authority to enter any house or premises to execute search warrant.
“It is pertinent to set the record straight and inform Nigerians of the facts of the matter. A search warrant duly obtained from court of competent jurisdiction was professionally executed in the house of Senator Danjuma Goje on 20th April, 2017 at No. 10 Haile Salasie Street, Asokoro District Abuja which was subsequent upon intelligence report at the disposal of the Force that large sum of money suspected to be stolen public funds and other incriminating items are about to be moved out of the said house.
“It is worthy of note that on arrival of the Police team to Senator Danujma Goje’s house, the house keeper Ango Usman informed the Senator of the presence and mission of the team and he promised coming but later switched off his phone.
“The search warrant was successfully executed in the presence of three (3) close relatives of Senator Danjuma Goje who are residing in the house and the recoveries were made in their presence. The three (3) relatives listed below opened the house and took the Police team round the building, and endorsed their signatures after the completion of the search as required by the procedure of law on search warrant which contained the money, documents and Laptop recovered, and none of the items include 2017 budget document.”
The police said there was nothing like budget among the items recovered from the Senator’s house.
He added, “For avoidance of doubt, the followings are the sum of money both in local and foreign currencies, vital documents and a Laptop recovered for investigation when the search warrant was executed in the house of Senator Danjuma Goje.
- Cash sum of Eighteen Million and Fifty Six Thousand Naira (₦18,056,000) only
- Cash sum of Nineteen Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty (19,850 US Dollars).
iii. Cash sum of Nine Thousand Four Hundred (SR9, 400) Saudi Riyal
- Thirty Eight (38) Files and Six (6) Envelopes containing documents, some of which are listed below
- File on funds spent on security administration and information gathering– a-g – 2009
- File on release of funds for Special operations a- f – 2009
- File on Gombe State Government of Nigeria Cash inflow 2005
- File on Project 2007 – Executive Briefs on how to fight opposition in Gombe State – Strategies and Tactics
- Envelopes containing permit to operate as an Oil Industry Service Company (special categories) 2011
- A File containing write-ups on how Governor Shekarau plotted the assassination of Sheikh Jafaru
- Letters from Alhaji Mohammed Danjuma Goje (Sarkin Yakin Gombe) to the MD LUBELL Nigeria Ltd of proposed residential Devt at Kashere Phase II dated 16/01/2007 and 19/11/2010,” it said.
The Nigeria Police Force insisted that there was no single document relating to 2017 budget sighted or removed by the Police team that executed the search warrant. There is video recording of the execution of the search warrant.
“The Inspector General of Police honoured the invitation of the National Assembly on 26th April, 2017 to explain the legality of the search warrant that was executed in the house of Senator Danjuma Goje on the 20th of April, 2017.
“Further investigation is currently ongoing into the matter. Police actions are in line with the provisions of Sec. 4 & 28 of Police Act and Regulations as mentioned in paragraph 2 above and consistent with Sec. 9 & 144 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.”
The statement described the claim by Senator Danjuma Goje as a deliberate distraction to cast aspersion on Police investigation to pervert justice.
…We have capacity to arrest Goje if he fails to honour police invitation – Moshood
In the meantime, the Nigerian Police has further thrown light on the Danjuma Goje’s house raid saying that it would have no option than carry out the arrest of the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, if he fails to honour the invitation of the police investigation panel ongoing.
Speaking on a television programme Thursday morning in Abuja, the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Mr. Jimoh Moshood, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), said he was seizing the opportunity of the broadcast interview to advise Senator Goje to go to before the investigative panel and explain all that he knows about issues he was being asked to explain.
Asked if the police would arrest Goje if he fails to appear before the investigative panel, CSP Moshood said, “Why now? Nobody is above the law and we will definitely do so.”
Insisting that there is no 2017 budget in the 38 files the Force took from Danjuma Goje’s house, Moshood said on the television programme that “We took laptop but the laptop we took does not contain anything relating to 2017 budget. So also, none of the 38 files we took contains anything of such.”
He however delved a little into the findings saying the laptop that was taken along with those files contained things that were being investigated.
Asked how confident he was to know that none of the 38 files carted away contained the 2017 budget documents, CSP Moshood, who urged his interviewer to be mindful of the use of ‘carted’ and ‘taken’ in matter of law, said was definitely nothing in the files that was related to 2017 budget.
He noted that it was not possible for the Senate to claim that it would be unable to pass the 2017 budget that had been with it for months just because the police conducted a search in the house of one of its Senators. “That is not true and there is nothing that anybody can do that will cow the police from carrying out its constitutional duty.”
He insisted that all files taken in Goje’s house were duly documented and signed for by three members of his house including one cousin of the Senator, a house keeper and an assistant to him.
