Military panel probes Wadume’s confessions, invites Police

The Joint Investigative Panel set up by the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, to probe the killing of three police in Ibi, Taraba State, has opened  an investigation  into the video showing  arrested kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Wadume, indicting  soldiers over his escape.This is just as the DHQ on Wednesday  invited  the police,  air force, Department of State Services and other security agencies  for   a joint meeting to  look into the “security challenges facing the country”.

Police on Tuesday confirmed  they arrested Wadume  from   his  hideout in the Layin Mai Allo Hotoro area of Kano State on Monday.

In the video released by police on their  Twitter handle, Wadume said in Hausa, “My name is Hamisu Bala Wadume.  Police came to arrest me. When they arrested me, the army (soldiers)  chased  them and opened fire. From there, they (soldiers) took me to their headquarters and cut off my handcuffs and released me.

“I went back to my house, but the  police came to re-arrest me.”

A source in the DHQ panel said on Wednesday  they were  disturbed  by   Wadume’s confession  in the video and were  looking into it.

He said, “The arrest of Wadume by the police is commendable. It was a joint effort between the police and the military. The video confession is very disturbing and we cannot ignore it. We are investigating the confession and we  want to ensure a smooth relationship  with the police.

“The panel was given one week initially but we now have an extension to tidy up the investigation. We are rounding off as soon as possible.”

The  panel headed by Rear Admiral Ibikunle Olaiya has top officers drawn from the police, army, navy, air force, DSS and the Defence Intelligence Agency.

On the  invitation  sent to the police and other  security agencies,  the acting Director, Defence Information, Col Onyema Nwachukwu, said, “The special meeting is sequel to a decision reached at the meeting of the Chief of Defence Staff with service chiefs and  heads of security and intelligence agencies.

“It is based on the need for their spokespersons and directors of information to hold regular meetings and address joint conferences to inform the public about the  efforts  the security agencies  are making towards addressing  the security challenges  facing  the country and other relevant issues.”