Ijaw Leader, Chief Edwin Clark has demand an unreserved apology from the Nigerian Police Force over the invasion of his Abuja residence.
In a statement signed by his lawyer, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, Castle of Law, Chambers, Abuja, described the action of the police as despotic, an indication of clampdown on opposition voices in the country.
The statement reads: โโThis afternoon , officers and men of the IGP Special Tactical Squad, a unit under the direct command of the Inspector General of Police, turned upside down and raided the Asokoro Residence of our Client, the foremost Politician, Nationalist and Elder Statesman, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark on the pretext that they were in search for arms and ammunitions.
โHowever, despite the siege and search, they found nothing incriminating our Client.
โOur Client believes that the rather unfortunate pretext or reasons given by the Nigerian Police is just another figment of their wild imaginations.
โThe fact that a man of Chief Edwin Clarkโs stature could have his house raided in this uncivil, undemocratic and brazen manner by the Nigerian Police underscores an anomalous/despotic tendency and is an indication of the recent clampdown on opposition voices in Nigeria.
โOur Client at a graceful age of 92, has played a very active role in the promotion and restoration of peace and order in the Niger Delta Region, his patriotic disposition to issues of national affairs clearly puts him in a class of his own, second to none. It is also a fact that cannot be gainsaid or misconstrued that his inputs in the Federal Government Amnesty Programme for Niger Delta Militants clearly paved the way for the eventual resolution of the crisisโ.
โTherefore, it can be safely concluded that our Client is not deserving of such humiliation and embarrassment as meted out to him by the Nigeria Police Force. In the final analysis, our Client finds the act of the Nigeria Police Force as reprehensible, inexcusable and absolutely unacceptableโ.
โConsequent upon this, we demand that an unreserved public apology be tendered to our Client by the Nigerian Police Force.
