Professor Haruna Kaita of the faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, yesterday cried out over what he described as incessant harassments by security agencies.
Professor Kaita said just when he was struggling to overcome his recent quizzing by the State Security Service (SSS) in Kaduna, he received another letter of invitation from the Kaduna Statecommissioner of police.
“I am presently on research tour, but ABU’s security coordinator has told me that he is in a receipt of a letter from the state’s commissioner of police inviting me to his office. No harassment can make me to change my stance on the polio vaccine being administered on our innocent children, because I have conducted several researches and found the vaccine to be harmful. Science does not require intimidation before somebody can be proved wrong or right. I have been asking them to come forward so that we can publically sit with the proponents of the vaccine. All thanks are to Allah, I am a professor of science and I am ready to face anyone that can discredit my research, period”, he said.
He added, “ the commissioner of police or director of SSS may not be scientists, but they can bring their scientists so that we can sit with them. I think that would give them the opportunity to discredit my claims, but resorting to harassment shows that they have a hidden agenda”.
Attempts to get the response of the Kaduna State commissioner of police were abortive as he did not reply the text message sent to him. The command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Aminu Lawal, said he was not aware of the invitation letter.
A source however told our correspondent that the invitation letter was addressed to ABU’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abdullahi Mustapha, who forwarded it to Professor Kaita through ABU’s security coordinator.
http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/index.php/news-news/54002-anti-polio-vaccine-professor-alleges-harassment