Group Seeks Dino Melaye’s Arrest Over Alleged Murder, Cites US Damning Report

Coalition of Civil Society Groups in Nigeria has urged the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun to arrest and investigate the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State, Sen. Dino Melaye over an alleged 2007 murder.

The group while citing a US report of 2008 alleged that Dino Melaye who was declared winner of a 2007 House of Representatives election perpetrated violence that led to the killing of one Mr. Jimoh Asimi and later Victor Obafaiye.

“On August 19, Victor Obafaiye, the principal witness for the Action Congress in the Kogi State Election Tribunal, was assassinated. Obafaiye was crucial to the case, as he was supposedly in possession of documents that would have served as evidence of election tampering by the PDP House of Assembly [sic] candidate, Dino Melaye,” the US State Department report says.

Addressing a press conference in Lokoja the Kogi State capital on Saturday, Mr. Wisdom Chinedu Ohalete, the Convener of Coalition of Civil Society Groups in Nigeria said heavily armed thugs allegedly sponsored by Mr. Melaye had invaded Kabba/Bunu local government of Kogi on the day of the 2007 election and murdered Alh Jimoh Asimi, who was one of the agents of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) at Akefe polling unit of Aiyeteju/Kajola ward in Kabba/Bunu LGA

“From what we gathered and painstakingly took time to investigate, and as reported by Sahara Reporters and other news platforms, two persons namely Mr. Jimoh Asimi and one Hon. Obafaiye lost their lives in questionable circumstances, arising from the violence that greeted the conduct of the 2007 House of Representatives election in which Dino Melaye, now the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the November 11 election was declared winner and murder that happened a fortnight to cross-examination date of star witness against the case at the Election petition tribunal”, Mr. Ohalete noted.

The group says 16 years after they were killed, the bereaved families are still in pain, insisting that only justice can bring succour to their troubled hearts.

While alleging that no report has been made on an earlier investigation conducted on the alleged murder, Mr. Ohalete called for a fresh investigation and bring to justice all those who perpetrated the dastardly act.

“We call on the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun to order the relevant authority involved in the investigation to make their report public or at best direct the Commissioner of Police in Kogi State Command and the DPO in charge of Kabba/Bunu to commence fresh investigation on the circumstances surrounding the death of the gentlemen mentioned above, if the previous committee cannot be trusted, in the interest of justice”, he demanded.

This comes barely a week ahead of the governorship election in Kogi in which Dino is seeking to be elected as number one citizen of Kogi.