Senator Abaribe could be charged with gun running as DSS raid his home in search of weapons

FORMER Abia State deputy governor Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe could be charged to court on charges of gun running and aiding and supporting the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (Ipob) following his recent arrest by men of the Department of State Security (DSS).

On Friday, senator Abaribe, who has stood surety for missing Ipob leader Nnamdi Kanu, was arrested while at the Transcorp Hotel, Abuja, where he had gone for a haircut and his Abuja home has since been searched by the DSS. According to the senator's lawyer  Chukwuma Ume, the search warrant procured  by the DSS allowed it to focus and search for arms and ammunitions and any other incriminating document.

According to Mr Ume, the excruciating search of all corners and every item in the house lasted from about 5pm until about 11.15pm on Friday. He pointed out that 27 items were taken from his client’s home none of which was a gun or any form of ammunition.

Mr Ume added: “Unfortunately, two of the 27 items include the two handsets of two USA citizens found in the house. One of the laptops taken included that of an educationist containing examination questions slated to be set for students on the 25th of June 2018 and all pleas for these questions to be copied were refused.

“Senator Abaribe, the surety to Nnamdi Kanu, is to appear in court on June 26 but on June 22, Senator Abaribe was arrested and detained incommunicado. The articulate senator who has contributed a lot to our nation building effort is of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his arrest was as shocking as it was curious.

He claimed Senator Abaribe’s arrest was motivated by his opposition to the federal authorities. In addition, Mr Ume also said that the senator's revelation that N30bn was smuggled into the budget of the power ministry without the knowledge of the Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy may have also been one of the reasons for his arrest.

“As his counsel, I have long ago, complied with the DSS stipulation for meeting with its detainees and I have also requested for a meeting with the director-general of the service to know the reason for his arrest. All fell into refusal ears and at about 4.45pm, I was alerted that officers of the services were heading to the senator’s residence.

“I subsequently had to break my long wait at the DSS headquarters and rush to the senator’s residence. This man is a known strong voice of the Igbo nation hence, this is a clampdown on the region,” Mr Ume added.