By Olusegun Emmanuel, Abuja.
Former Inspector General of Police, Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta, yesterday opened up for the first time since his sack from office by the late dictator, Gen. Sanni Abacha, attributing the reason for his removal to his advice for the release of high profile detainees of the regime.
Jimeta revealed that he was removed because he advised late former Head of State to release ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, Late Gen Musa Yar Adua and other four political detainees.
The former Inspector General of Police who made revelation during the inaugural sitting of the committee at the National Judiciary Institute (NJI) venue of the conference said he was compelled to leave the country for nine months when his life was being threatened.
According to him, “As the IGP then, I advised the former President Sanni Abacha to release the high profile political detainees like Gen Olusegun Obasanjo, Gen Musa YaAdua and other four but the former president refused to do so and instead removed me, to the extent that they were looking for my head”.
He said that ” either military head of state or civilian head of state all of them are working according to the constitution, adding that there is nothing wrong about the constitution, what was paramount is to amend sections that were not in tune with the reality of the situation.
Gambo Jimeta maintained that ” Biafrans are right. Military are right. And all other agitating groups are right. What is necessary was to aggregate the views and give recommendations. We should not bring any other things to the conference. Let us not believe that people of this country are stupid”. He urged the delegates not do things that are not within the term of reference of the conference.
“Am a different Nigerian. I don’t want any Nigerians to be slaves. I decided to take up the appoint in order to change situation for the people. Am not enjoying this conference, am sick yet am here but to help Nigeria. To help president to salvage the country”, he added.
He said, “The country is sick otherwise how could people organised themselves and killed innocent students, how could people gathered together and rob innocent Nigerians, how could people gathered together and vandalised pipelines it means the central system is sick and that is national security”.
Gambo Jimeta also stated that security has always been the fulcrum on which the entire architecture of a state resolved. “It remains the essence or the raison d’etre for people coming together to form a governments. Without it, no state can carry out the constitutional responsibilities to its citizens-protection of life, enjoyment of peace and the pursuit of the daily activities that bring dignity to man”.
“Having regard to the vast or formidable array of experience, knowledge, exposure, maturity and impressive credentials, you represent collectively, it is superfluous for me to emphasise the great significance of your membership and the heavy burden it places on us”, he said.
Jimeta however hoped that the committee should collectively bring to bear on the working of this committee, the sobriety, the rich expertise and distilled experience members of the committee have earned over the years.
At the Tuesday sitting, the committee adopted a work plans and also set up three sub committees which include: committee on crisis management bodies, committee on law and order infrastructure and the committee on defence infrastructure.
The purpose of the working paper, he said, was to provide the basis upon which and around which committee members will attempt to organise their thought and interventions in fulfilment of their mandate.
“It identifies issues pertinent to national security by firstly suggesting a broad definition of national security and isolating its key elements, secondly, it examines the characteristics of the nigerian security situation witg special emphasis on current threats to National Security.” he added
