There was confusion on Monday about the news of the dismissal of the policeman that released the shots that injured a former member of the House of Representatives, Opeyemi Bamidele.
Bamidele and five others were shot at a reception rally organised for the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, at the APC secretariat on Friday.
Bamidele was flown to Lagos on Sunday in an air ambulance after doctors extracted two bullets from his abdomen and leg.
The Commissioner of Police in Ekiti, Bello Ahmed, while speaking on a telephone interview on Channels TV monitored in Ado Ekiti on Monday, stated that the policeman had been dismissed.
The policeman attached to 20 PMF had followed a politician to the rally.
“The policeman involved is dismissed already and even though he’s nursing some injury; and at the appropriate time, he will face the law, of course. Nigerians will be briefed on the outcome of our actions,” the CP said on air.
But seeking further clarification on the matter, the Police Publication Relations Officer in Ekiti, ASP Caleb Ikechukwu, told our correspondent that no dismissal order had been made on the mobile policeman.
“The policeman is still under orderly room trial and has not been dismissed.
“We have a laid down procedure, it is only on completion of the investigation that the policeman could be dismissed if found culpable. But as it is now, the case is still under investigation. The law must take its due course.”
Ahmed also explained that the unnamed politician that brought the erring cop was also in detention and that at the appropriate time, he would be charged to court.
On measures in place for the coming election in the state, the Ekiti CP said, “We have robust arrangement to regulate and observe these political activities as they are unwinding in Ekiti State.”
The Punch
