Military panel begins investigation into Wadume’s confession, invites police Military panel begins investigation into Wadume’s confession, invites police

The Joint Investigative Panel set up by the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, to probe the killing of three police in Ibi, Taraba State, has opened an investigation into the video showing arrested kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Wadume, indicting soldiers over his escape.

In the video released by police on their Twitter handle, Wadume said in Hausa, “My name is Hamisu Bala Wadume. Police came to arrest me. When they arrested me, the army (soldiers) chased them and opened fire. From there, they (soldiers) took me to their headquarters and cut off my handcuffs and released me. “I went back to my house, but the police came to re-arrest me.”

The DHQ also invited the police, air force, Department of State Services and other security agencies for a joint meeting to look into the “security challenges facing the country”.

A source in the DHQ panel said on Wednesday they were disturbed by Wadume’s confession in the video and were looking into it.

He said, “The arrest of Wadume by the police is commendable. It was a joint effort between the police and the military. The video confession is very disturbing and we cannot ignore it.

We are investigating the confession and we want to ensure a smooth relationship with the police. The panel was given one week initially but we now have an extension to tidy up the investigation. We are rounding off as soon as possible.”

The panel headed by Rear Admiral Ibikunle Olaiya has top officers drawn from the police, army, navy, air force, DSS and the Defence Intelligence Agency. On the invitation sent to the police and other security agencies, the acting Director, Defence Information, Col Onyema Nwachukwu, said;

“The special meeting is sequel to a decision reached at the meeting of the Chief of Defence Staff with service chiefs and heads of security and intelligence agencies.

“It is based on the need for their spokespersons and directors of information to hold regular meetings and address joint conferences to inform the public about the efforts the security agencies are making towards addressing the security challenges facing the country and other relevant issues.”