We didn’t arrest Ezekwesili, say police

The Nigeria police force has denied arresting Oby Ezekwesili, co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement.

Members of the movement had alleged that they were arrested and taken to the federal capital territory (FCT) police command on Tuesday.

But in a statement issued shortly after the incident, the command said it never “arrested” the individuals.

Anjuguri Manzah, spokesman of the command, said they were only taken to their command headquarters “to ensure there was no breakdown of law and order”.

The statement read: “The FCT police command wishes to clear the air and set the record straight that it did not arrest or detain Prof. Oby Ezekwesili and some members of the Bring Back Our Girls group as being speculated on some social media platforms.

“It is pertinent to state that they were only brought to the Command to ensure there was no breakdown of law and order as some members of the group reacted violently and broke down security barriers set up by the police to restrict their protest to Unity Fountain.

“The members of the group were addressed by the Commissioner of Police FCT, CP Sadiq Bello who reiterated the commitment of the Command to protect lives and property and enjoined the Bring Back Our Girls members to go about their lawful businesses. After briefing by the Commissioner of Police, the members of the group left the Command.”