The spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force, Frank Mba, has debunked claims that the Kogi State Commissioner for Water Resources, Abdumumini Danga, who was accused of battering and raping a beauty queen, Elizabeth Oyeniyi, was released as a result of pressure allegedly mounted by Governor Yahaya Bello.

It was gathered that Danga was arrested and interrogated at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja, on Tuesday, and was subsequently released on bail.

Oyeniyi accused the commissioner of assaulting and raping her over a Facebook post she made on March 29, 2020, about Danga not taking care of his sibling, who is her friend.

The post reportedly did not go down well with Danga, who allegedly ordered his boys to look for Oyeniyi and beat her up.

The victim had stated that after she was beaten up by the boys, she was ordered to strip naked and apologise to the commissioner

The 23-year-old beauty queen further alleged that Danga took her to a hotel and raped her.

SaharaReporters reported on Tuesday that the commissioner was released after Bello allegedly pressurised the police to ensure that he did not spend the night at the station.

Mba, however, told our correspondent on Wednesday that Danga was interrogated extensively and granted bail.

He added that investigation into the matter was ongoing and that further police action would be determined by the outcome of the investigation.

He said,

The commissioner was with us yesterday (Tuesday) and he was extensively interrogated and his statement was duly obtained under caution.

The interrogation lasted nearly five hours and he was subsequently granted bail; the investigation is still ongoing; it is an active investigation.

Speaking on the claim that the commissioner was released because of pressure from the governor, Mba said,

That is purely speculative and I do not want to speak on speculation. The police are conducting an investigation and the police action will not be determined by any primordial sentiment, but will be determined by the outcome of our findings.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.