Ex-IGP blasts Omokri: Jonathan will be sad if I open up

Suleiman Abba, former inspector-general of police, has issued out a warning to Reno Omokri, former aide of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.

Speaking with reporters when he visited the secretariat of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Lagos, Abba expressed dissatisfaction with the reaction of Omokri to an interview he granted to Daily Trust last month.

In the interview, the former number one police officer had said the force he led compelled Jonathan to concede the 2015 election.

Abba also said a top Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member reached out to him to influence the Osun state 2014 governorship election in favour of the then ruling party.

Omokri had responded by accusing him officer of spreading falsehood.

“The accusation of the former IGP of Police makes no sense to reasonable men and women,” Omokri had said.

“IGP Suleiman Abba is proof of the fact that liars need a very good memory otherwise they would contradict themselves with their lies.”

But in his own response, Abba challenged Omokri to a debate on his activities as the IG.

He said if Omokri provokes him, he would open up on some things and Jonathan would feel sad.

“Please tell him (Omokri) to leave me alone as a retired police officer. He cannot change the narrative of what I did in office… If I open up, his godfather (Jonathan) will be sad,” he said.

“Reno should keep quiet and leave me alone. He should know that he is talking about a former police IG and a lawyer. I am well informed about my fundamental human rights. It is my right to speak when I choose to.

“That he was queering why shouldn’t I speak two or six months after leaving office, is not his business. If I can defend the right of others as lawyer, I should be able to defend my own by expressing myself.

“Out of the five IGs his boss worked with, I acted in good conscience. That much is not controvertible. I am proud to say that the police under my watch forced ex-President Jonathan to accept the result of the 2015 poll through our professional conduct.

“It was not the duty of the police to conduct election neither do we vote on election day. I have no regret over my action. Our action gave credibility to the 2015 poll which was widely acknowledged by both the local and international observers.

“For me, that translated into legitimacy for the current government. The practice all over the world is that whenever election is over everyone should work with the any government that emerged to move the nation forward. If Reno Omokri is sad that I am in Nigeria relating with a legitimate government, that is his headache.”

Jonathan had fired Abba shortly after he lost the 2015 election.