Dino Melaye
Nigerian Senator Dino Melaye has been arrested.
The politician confirmed the arrest on Monday.
He said on Monday that he was picked up at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
It was not immediately clear which agency carried out the arrest, but Mr Melaye was declared wanted for his alleged involvement in a murder case and provision of support for criminal elements in his home state of Kogi.
“I have just been arrested at the international wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport on my way to Morocco for an official engagement sponsored by the Federal Govt after checking in,” he said on Twitter.
The senator later told PREMIUM TIMES that he was blocked as he was undergoing security and immigration screening.
He said he was told that the police had place him on its ‘no fly’ list and that he was therefore barred from travelling at the airport.
Mr. Melaye said he “snatched back” his passport from the official who confiscated it and made to proceed to board his flight.
“But I was then circled by police officers trying to hold me and saying I am on Interpol wanted list,” Mr. Melaye said.
“We have called Interpol and they said it is a lie. Someone has also mentioned to me that my name was placed at the airport by a police commissioner.
“So here we are, a standoff at a public place at our international airport. We are here.”
Mr Melaye had on March 1 held himself up at a federal court in Abuja as the anti-robbery squad of the police made to arrest him.
That stand-off came hours after the senator secured bail on perjury charges.
He was arraigned on allegations that he provided false information to the police in an attempt to indict a senior official of the Kogi State government. He was granted a N100,000 bail.
But he stayed behind inside the court to avoid the police arrest. Statutorily, a suspect who has been granted bail by a court and met the conditions cannot be arrested within the court premises by security personnel.
The police team later left the court that night after Mr. Melaye escaped through a back channel.
The police have since then craved for a smooth opportunity to take the senator in.
The spokesperson of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Sunday James, told PREMIUM TIMES the senator is with immigration officials at the airport, but could not immediately confirm whether it was based on the a request by the police.
“I just learnt that he is with our officials at the airport, but I cannot explain the situation for now,” Mr James said.
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