- Return money, documents seized from Goje
The deliberations at the Senate on Wednesday where Senator Danjuma Goje had given as an excuse for delay in passage of the 2017 the Police raid on his residence in Abuja, may have yielded result in the recovery of the documents and money taken away from his house during the raid.
Invariably, the Police appear to have succumbed to the intimidation arising from the Senate plenary session on Wednesday.
Accordingly, the Police, this Thursday, returned the money in both local and foreign currencies, including other documents confiscated from the Abuja residence of Senator Goje, representing Gombe Central.
It was gathered that the Police returned the documents and money after they learnt that the information given to them by a whistleblower was false.
“Nigerian Police, this morning, returned everything they took from Senator Goje’s house, including cash and documents relating to the 2017 budget. They claim the raid was based on a wrong information from a whistleblower,” a source was cited to have said.
The National Assembly, at the plenary session on Wednesday had decried that the Police took away critical component of the 2017 budget during the raid on Senator Goje’s residence.
Raising a point of order on the invasion of his house, Goje had said the police during the raid went away with his laptop and 18 files.
He said the police spent four hours in his house and searched all the rooms, including his private office.
“While I was in National Assembly working on the budget, I received distressed call from my house that the police have invaded my house. They broke all my wardrobes, boxes and doors,” he had said.
“Up till this moment I have no official contact with the Police. So I don’t know why they invaded my house and I don’t know what they are looking for and they have collected all my things like I told you the money, the files, the laptop are with them.
“We will manage to pass this budget but don’t blame us if it is further delayed because it’s not my fault again. It is not the fault of National Assembly. The police are the one maybe hiding the budget now maybe they are using the laptop and files to come out with the budget,” he said.
Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki noted that the police blamed the invasion on wrong information by a whistle blower.
During the raid of Goje’s residence in Abuja last Thursday, the police admitted that cash sum of ₦18,056,000; cash sum of $19,850 and another cash sum of SR9, 400 Saudi Riyal, including other documents were recovered from the house.
The Police spokesman CSP Jimoh Moshood, in a statement on Thursday noted the search warrant executed on Senator Goje’s House has nothing to do with the 2017 budget.
Moshood argued that reports in the media credited to Senator Danjuma Abdullahi Goje captioned “Blame the Police if 2017 Budget is not Ready Senator Goje” “REPS gives Police 24 hours to return budget documents allegedly carted from Goje’s residence,” are false and misleading.
The report, Moshood said is capable of misinforming Nigerians about the statutory roles and duties of the Nigeria Police Force as provided under Sections 4 & 28 of Police Act and Regulations.
He said its powers includes prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of offenders, the preservation of law and order, the protection of life and property and the due enforcement of all laws and regulations, and authority to enter any house or premises to execute search warrant.
He added that: “It is pertinent to set the record straight and inform Nigerians of the facts of the matter. A search warrant duly obtained from court of competent jurisdiction was professionally executed in the house of Senator Danjuma Goje on 20thApril, 2017 at No. 10 Haile Salasie Street, Asokoro District Abuja.”
He explained that the search was subsequent upon intelligence report at the disposal of the Force that large sum of money suspected to be stolen public funds and other incriminating items are about to be moved out of the said house.