The Kwara State Police Command has arrested Senator Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara South – PDP) just a day before the National Assembly elections in which he’s contesting to be re-elected.
The lawmaker was taken into custody to be questioned a day after the All Progressives Congress (APC) accused him of masterminding an attack on his opponent, Lola Ashiru, in Ojoku, Oyun local government area of the state.
The attack, which happened on Tuesday, February 19, reportedly left two dead and many others injured.
Kwara police spokesperson, Ajayi Okasanmi, told Premium Times that Senator Ibrahim was questioned for hours after he honoured an invitation by the authorities on Thursday, February 21.
However, he was unsure if Ibrahim was still in custody by Friday morning as claimed by the lawmaker’s associates.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has released a statement to describe the lawmaker’s arrest as “completely provocative”.
“This resort to police brutality by the APC is a script by a losing team which seeks to introduce violence and use the police to execute their rigging plots,” read an official statement.
The PDP and APC have traded blames over Tuesday’s attack in a state that’s considered a battleground state for the 2019 elections set to commence with the President and National Assembly elections on Saturday, February 23.
