The Commissioner of Police in charge of Lagos Command, Mr Idowu Owohunwa, has said that the police have commenced investigation into a video where the Chairman of Lagos State Park and Garage Management Committee, Musiliu Akinsanya, aka MC Oluomo, warned Lagos electorates to stay at home on March 18, if they would not vote for the All Progressives Congress governorship and House of Assembly candidates.
The Commissioner strongly condemned all acts, statements and actions that could be taken for hate speech and deepen political tension in the state.
The CP made the disclosure while reacting to questions on the trending threat video by MC Oluomo on Arise Television News Hour on Friday.
He said that the police is deploying its cyber security assets to carry out a holistic investigation into the video.
The CP assured that that the police are under obligation to investigate issues that could aggravate political tension and cause violence insisting that the case of the video would not be different.
He warned those involved in issuing out threats messages and their counterparts planning same to the careful saying the law would take its full course in the matter.
“Well first and foremost, we condemn in the strongest possible terms, any act, statements and actions that could be interpreted as hate speech or could be interpreted as deepening political tension regardless of the reason that could be behind that.
“With regards to the specific video you mentioned, it is currently a subject of detailed investigation and we are of course deploying our cybersecurity assets to support that process.
“And I can assure you that nobody is above the law, this country is regulated by law, so anybody that tries to use his position, his influence to deepen hate or engender political tension, which could of course snowball into violence, the Nigerian police will investigate such cases.
“This particular one you mentioned will not be an isolation, it is already a subject of review and it will be in the interest of the actors behind it and all others that might wish to engage in such ill formed, ill directed actions, to be very careful, to be firmly warned, because in the fullness of time, the law will take its full course and it will not be different in this instance if established.”
MC Oluomo in the viral video, he shared on social media, was particularly referring to the Igbos living in Lagos State to stay away from the polling units if they would not vote the APC Candidate.
Oluomo, who spoke in Pidgin English, said; “We have begged them, it is not a fight if they did not vote for us. Iya Chukwudi, if you no wan vote for us, please sit down for home oo. We don’t want your vote.”
The CP stated further that the police are investigating all such video clips in order to establish violations against the Law for the commencement of prosecution where necessary.
The CP disclosed that Lagos State recorded 23 major electoral offences during the last Presidential election out of which five have been processed and forwarded to INEC for prosecution.
“I can confirm that all the video clips are being reviewed and the statements, assertions, threats, contained therein are subjects of ongoing investigations and as we proceed, if facts are established against the provisions of the law, nobody is above the law in this country.
“Our existence is regulated by law and we are bound together by law, the political process is regulated by law and nobody can be above that, so if these allegations are established, you can be sure, the appropriate legal and criminal proceedings will be initiated against the specific actors involved.”
“In relation to the video, if his statements is found to be against the dictates of extant laws and we find his actions as being offensive to any component of criminal laws, definitely, the actors behind it will be prosecuted .
“In relation to the electoral offences that we have recorded, I did mention that in Lagos State be recorded a total of about 23 major offences during the Presidential elections, and of these cases or instances, we have processed five to INEC in line with the Electoral Act, knowing that the prosecution components of that process resides legally with the legal department of INEC.
“For those that we arrested not within the range of the polling units or the electoral space; there were also those that were arrested within the town from which we recovered firearms, and other incriminating items found after conducting a search; those ones have already been charged as at Monday this week.
So we are working currently with the legal department of INEC to conclude the prosecution process.” He added