My dad’s arrest political, says retired Kogi colonel’s son

Barely 72 hours after the arrest of his father by the Department of State Services, the Head, Department of Sociology and Anthropology in Baze University, Abuja, Dr. Barnabas Suleiman, on Wednesday demanded his freedom, describing him as a victim of Kogi State politics.

Suleiman said contrary to the claim by the DSS, his father was arrested in the early hours of Saturday on his way to Abuja to attend the screening of Kogi State governorship aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress to support one of them.

“When this happened and it got to our knowledge, I tried to reach some persons within the corridors of power in Kogi State. Most of them feigned ignorance. At some point, some of them were trying to make us believe that to be a kidnap case,” the don said.

According to him, his father’s case has confirmed the situation where “the people in government have resorted to intimidation, political persecution of people that are seen as threats to their planned installation of one of them as the next Governor of Kogi State.”

The reported that the DSS had on Sunday said it arrested a retired Colonel and eight others, and recovers arms from them.

The spokesperson for DSS, Peter Afunanya, had in a statement said they were arrested by its operatives in Kogi, Adamawa, Abuja, and Plateau States between March and March 26 during a joint operation with other security agencies.

Among those arrested, he said, was a retired personnel of the Nigerian Army identified as Col A.U. Suleiman, and five other members of his gang.