Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris has said that there was never a time he turned down the invitation of the Senate.

Speaking in Kano on a local Radio Station, Idris affirmed that he has never at any time refused to honour the invitation of the Senate, because he holds them in high esteem.

The IGP said the invitation of the Senate according to the letter sent to him was on Senator Dino Melaye’s case which is before a court and discussing such will amount to prejudice and contempt.

He said he has no cause to refuse to answer the call of the Senate if the issue has to do with national interest and issue.

He explained that since assumption of office in June 2016, he has appeared 10 times before the Senate on different issues of national importance, noting that he holds the lawmakers in high esteem.

“The recent claim by the Senate that the reason for inviting me is to brief them on the recent killings in some part of the country could be an afterthought which can be seen from the headings of their invitation letters,” the IGP stated.

The senate at plenary recently declared the IGP an enemy of democracy and unfit to hold any public office within and outside the country for failing to honour its invitation thrice

Speaking on the spate of killings in the country, Idris said new area commands have been created in some volatile environments with the deployment of additional Policemen to Zamfara,Birnin Gwari in Kaduna, Benue and Taraba States.

He also said the mop up exercise of prohibited arms and weapons across the country has led to the recovery of over 5000 prohibited arms from wrong hands .

According to him, it is a continuous operation as those in possession of such arms will be prosecuted after the expiration of the window created for voluntary submission of illegal weapons.

For its insistence that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, must appear before it, the Arewa Consultative Forum has chided the Senate, describing it as being driven more by ego rather than national interest.

For that reason, the northern group has asked the Senators to leave the IGP alone to do his work of policing Nigeria instead of being constantly harassed and distracted from his core mandate.

The ACF made the demand in a statement signed by its president, Yerima Shettima said, “We are seriously disturbed that the Senate as an institution would spend so much time and energy on asking the IGP to appear before it, as if that is the Number One priority of the nation.

It is worrisome that this is happening at a time Nigerians were looking forward to the signing of the country’s budget, especially considering the kind of loud complaints everyday about the delay by the Senate to pass the 2018 budget.

This delay has sparked loud outcries across the nation, with many Nigerians calling the Senate unprintable names, especially after repeated promises to do so. “It is indisputable that summoning the IGP is never a priority of the Nigerian electorate and the Senate should kindly consider the unfolding events as needless distractions. “There are clear legal implications about the Senate’s insistence that the IGP must appear.

The recent condemnation of this position of the Senate by Femi Falana (SAN) has portrayed the Senate as an institution run by egos rather than the rule of law, democratic principles and priority needs of the nation.

“The consequence of this war on the nation is obvious: the IGP has the militia killings in Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Zamfara and Kaduna to face. His hands are already full with these security challenges to be involved with other issues like appearing before a Senate committee.

Deaths of innocent citizens are involved and we expect the Senate to consider this sad reality as well as the urgent need for IGP to act fast. “We urge Nigerians of good conscience to prevail on the Senate to let the IGP confront the killing spree in many States of the country.

This is a critical moment in the history of this nation and we cannot afford a bickering while thousands of innocent souls keep on dying from militia attacks. “We dare say that anything worth doing is worth doing well and so, let the IGP be.