Dino Melaye gave us three guns, N430,000 cash, says suspect

Two suspected criminals in Abuja upon their arrest in Lokoja, the Kogi state capital, have reportedly named Senator Dino Melaye as the one who armed them with weapons ahead of the 2019 election.

The suspects identified as Kabir Saidu (also known as Osama) and Nuhu Saliu, nicknamed Small have been on the wanted list for the past two years according to the Nigerian police force.

They were reportedly arrested in January, 2018 by the Kogi state police command and the Federal Special Anti- Robbery Squad (FSARS).

The force spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, who paraded the suspects, said they were arrested after a gun battle with the police team that lasted for some hours on January 19, 2018, at Ogojueje in Dekina local government area of Kogi state.

According to Moshood, the suspects confessed to the various criminal roles they played in the commission of several kidnappings and armed robbery in different towns across Kogi state and its environs for which they have been on the wanted list if the police for more than two years now.

Adding that the suspects confessed to being political thugs recruited by politicians in Kogi state to cause mayhem and disruption of peace and destruction of lives and property in the state, Moshood said the gang leader confessed that he met Senator Dino Melaye at the airport road, Abuja inside His car on the 27 December, 2017 when he told him to start working for him.

Moshood said the lead suspect also confessed that Melaye gave him a sum of N430,000 to recruit and train more thugs to work for him in preparation towards 2019 general election.

“Consequent on the indictments and criminal confessions against Senator Dino Melaye by the principal suspect, Kabiru Saidu aka Osama, 31 years, Nigeria police force wrote a letter dated 2nd of March, 2018 to answer to criminal offences levelled against him to enable the police carry a discrete investigation into the confession of the principal suspect against Senator Dino Melaye.

But Senator Dino Melaye has refused to honour the police invitation till date. “A case of criminal conspiracy and unlawful possession of prohibited firearms have therefore been filled by the Nigeria police force at federal high court, Lokoja,” ACP Mashood added.

Senator Dino Melaye however reacted saying he never met the suspects and that he was being framed by the state government to discredit him. “This is an attempt to shut me up and stop me from speaking the truth but they have failed, it is an orchestrated lie by the governor and the police, in have tweeted about six weeks ago that they want to set me up because I got an Intel from government house when they met to set me up.

“You can see the conflicting statements by the criminals, I heard one said I gave two AK47 and pump action, while the other said I gave only one rifle and that I gave N430,000 to train militia, and that I met them in airport road in December 2017 but they didn’t give a date and time.

“I don’t know anybody I have not involved myself with any thugs I became member house of representatives and senate without, if this is an attempt to shut me up they have failed,”