The police on Friday in Kaduna asked Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and two other All Progressives Congress (APC) bigwigs to report in their offices.

Summoned to appear along with El-Rufai are Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi and Lawal Samaila Yakawada.

El-Rufai is the APC candidate for governor of Kaduna State. Hunkuyi, is the Senatorial candidate for Kaduna North and chairman of the APC Kaduna State Campaign Council.

Yakawada, who was Secretary to the State Government in the Patrick Yakowa government, is a senior member of the APC campaign council.

The trio were invited by the deputy commissioner of police in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The Spokesman of the campaign council, Samuel Aruwan disclosed that the police followed up the written invitation with phone calls, saying the intent behind requesting three top leaders of the APC to report a day to the presidential election, is obvious.

“Enquiries indicated that the pretext the police are employing is a petition about destruction of billboards in Zaria, an act for which the APC has been the victim.

The APC notes that this is part of a campaign to frame criminal charges on the opposition for actions for which it has already been victimised,” he said.

Dr. Yusuf Dankofa, an Associate Professor of Law, who also doubles as counsel to the APC, has indeed notified the police that there is an ongoing court action against the police on the events in Zaria, at the Federal High Court, Kaduna judicial division in suit no FHC/KD/CS/48/2015.

In a letter to the Commissioner of Police, Prof. Dankofa informed them that “the pendency of the case prevents the police from taking any action in connection with the matter, as that will not only amount to an act of subjudice, but will also translate to a total disregard for justice and a further desecration of the hallowed majesty of our courts.

“In view of this fact that the above mentioned people’s application is before the court, the matter has been further adjourned to the 29th of April 2015 for further arguments and with this the court has been seized of this matter.

“The police department in Kaduna State is, therefore, legally bound to conform with the rule of law, and should refuse to take any action that will portray them as anti-procedure because the law imposes on them an obligation to await the outcome of any litigation where they have been sued. In this case the police is part of the respondents and our solicitors are ready to take them up should they want to toe the path of disobedience. We hope they wouldn’t.”

APC said late yesterday that it has also been alerted of plans to arrest APC stalwarts in Southern Kaduna, including party chairman and gubernatorial running-mate Barnabas Yusuf Bala (Bantex), Mikaiah Tokwak, Vice Admiral Ishaya Iko (rtd) and Ben Kure, Director General of Kaduna APC Campaign Council.

•Photo shows El-Rufai.

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