[attachimg=1] Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday asked the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Hafiz Ringim, to resign before next month's general elections.
In a statement issued in Ilorin, Kwara State, by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party also accused the police chief of "blatantly disregarding court orders, a dangerous trend for a top law enforcement officer and an invitation to anarchy."
It said the IGP exhibited gross partisanship in handling the pre-election violence in Akwa Ibom, hence cannot be trusted to lead his men to be neutral and fair during the polls.
Meanwhile, the Federal High Court, Abuja Division yesterday remanded former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and ACN Gubernatorial Candidate in the April polls, John Akpanudoedehe, in police custody over his alleged complicity in the spate of violence that rocked in Akwa Ibom State during the week.
The trial Judge, Mr. Adamu Bello issued the remand order against Akpanudoedehe upon a four-count charge of treason preferred against him by the police.
Although the former Minister pleaded not guilty to the charge and requested for bail, Bello declined to entertain an oral application for bail, directing that a formal bail application be filed for consideration.
Consequently, he ordered that Akpanudoedehe be kept in police custody until Tuesday March 29, 2011 when the court would take arguments on his formal application for bail.
Akpanudoedehe allegedly masterminded the recent mayhem in Akwa Ibom State, which claimed four lives and led to the destruction of hundreds of cars worth over N2 billion.
In a related development, the Akwa Ibom State plans to set up a judicial commission of inquiry to
look into the mayhem that engulfed Ikot Ekpene and Uyo last Wednesday.
Governor Godswill Akpabio disclosed this during his campaign trip to Eastern Obolo Local Council of the state on Thursday.
Akpabio described as uncalled for, inciting text messages sent to some Ibibio to rise up and fight against Annangs on the pretext that during the ACN campaign in Ikot Ekpene, some Ibibio indigenes were killed, stating that this was false.
He said the five people killed during the crisis were of Annang stock and challenged the authors of the text message to show the remains of those killed during the fracas, warning the people against engaging in acts capable of rocking the peace and unity of the state.
Deputy Gubernatorial Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, Obong Nsima Ekere, attributed the mayhem in Uyo and Ikot Ekpene to frustration and desperation on the part of the opposition.
Speaking at the PDP campaign rally in Ikot Abasi on Thursday, Ekere condemned the wanton destruction of lives and property, which he described as "a madness spree."
But the ACN alleged: "The IGP is a major player in the collusion between the Akwa Ibom State government and the police to put away our gubernatorial candidate in the state, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, on flimsy and politically-motivated charges before the election, to give easy and undeserved victory to Governor Godswill Akpabio, who knows he cannot win a free and fair election in the state.
''The IGP invited our candidate, Senator Akpanudoedehe, to his office, only for him to detain the candidate and charge him to court for treasonable felony, despite a subsisting court order not only that Senator Akpanudoedehe should not be arrested but that the police should give him protection from now till end of the elections.
"The IGP, who was duly served with the orders of the court, willfully disregarded it, just to please his pay masters. Instead he made a villain out of a victim. Where is the fairness in that when Senator Akpanudoedehe is the victim in the government-instigated violence? This is the way
and manner the police under IGP Ringim have been behaving in the run-up to the elections.
We are therefore left with no choice than to ask the IGP to step down, unless of course he wants to confirm the rumour that he was appointed specifically to work for a PDP victory at the polls.
''In the event that he fails to heed our call to resign, we call on the international election monitors now converging on the country to note the highly-partisan role of the police under him."
Meanwhile, ahead of the general elections, Osun State Police Command has reiterated its resolve to deal with anybody caught working against the peaceful conduct of the polls.
The police also denied allegation of bias leveled against it by the state chapter of the ACN, which alleged that cases of violence against its members were treated with levity.
State Commissioner of Police Solomon Olusegun said the police were ready to discharge their constitutional role of maintaining law and order, warning that political parties should desist from cheap blackmail and acts capable of heating up the polity.
And, the ACN leadership in Kwara State has alerted of an alleged grand design by the state's police command to commence arrest of party members ahead of next month's polls.
At a press briefing jointly addressed by its governorship candidate in the state, Dele Belgore and Mohammed, the ACN said the plan, if not shelved, might lead to "unpleasant circumstances".
Source: ACN Alleges Partisanship, Asks IG To Resign (http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=42799:acn-alleges-partisanship-asks-ig-to-resign&catid=1:national&Itemid=559)