The fate of the joint panel comprising the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the Department of State Services (DSS), responsible for investigating the suspended Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, has become uncertain.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the panel may have abandoned the case after the retirement of its chairman, Assistant Inspector-General of Police Garba Umar.
It should be recalled that the Adamawa REC had prematurely declared Aisha Dahiru, popularly known as Binani, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the Adamawa State governorship election, even before the collation of results was completed.
Subsequently, INEC nullified the declaration made by Yunusa-Ari, summoning him to their headquarters in Abuja. However, the REC failed to honour the invitation.
In response, INEC wrote to the police, urging them to investigate Yunusa-Ari for alleged electoral infractions and prosecute him if found guilty.
Consequently, the Inspector General of Police (IG) ordered an investigative team to collaborate with INEC on the matter. INEC revealed that it was unaware of the whereabouts of the suspended Adamawa REC.
According to sources close to the investigation, the joint panel has not convened to discuss Yunusa-Ari’s case for over two weeks, the Punch reports.
An undisclosed source commented, “The suspended Adamawa REC, Yunusa-Ari’s case appears to have been abandoned. The panel investigating the matter has not met for over two weeks now. As you may know, the panel’s chairman, AIG Umar, retired in May. Since his retirement, no one has been appointed to lead the panel.”
This newspaper learnt that when contacted about the matter after his retirement on May 15, Umar stated that he had no knowledge of the case, as he had already left the police force. He advised reaching out to the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO) for further information.
In May, when the Punch approached for comment, the FPRO, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, acknowledged the retirement of the panel’s chairman but promised to investigate the matter and provide an update. However, no information has been provided thus far.
When contacted again on Friday, Adejobi redirected inquiries to INEC, stating, “Kindly ask INEC.”
In response, INEC indicated that all inquiries regarding the matter should be directed to the police.
