+++++++++++++++++
http://saharareporters.com/real-news/sr-headlines/5858-ig-of-police-onovo-defies-jonathans-order-to-arrest-ibori.html

IG of Police Onovo Defies Jonathan’s Order To Arrest Ibori PDF | Print | E-mail
Monday, 19 April 2010 18:53

IGP Onovo and Yar'adua

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan is facing the first serious challenge to his authority as commander-in-chief of the Nigerian Armed forces as the Inspector General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo, has rejected Jonathan’s order to arrest former Governor James Ibori. “I can confirm that Dr. Jonathan gave Onovo the order some 24 hours ago, but the IG has refused to comply,” said a source who is a member of the Presidential Advisory Council and who has been briefed on the matter. Another source within the Presidency told Saharareporters that Jonathan handed Ogbonna the order yesterday after Mrs. Waziri Farida, chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), briefed the acting president about her agents’ problems in executing a warrant for Ibori’s arrest. The EFCC had last week obtained an arrest warrant from an Abuja court and subsequently declared Ibori wanted.

As soon as Ibori knew that Waziri was determined to carry out his arrest, he fled from Lagos to the creeks in Delta State where he recruited a retinue of heavily armed militants. With them, he headed for his hometown in Oghara where he is currently being protected by the militants as well as 29 armed policemen largely drafted from the notorious mobile unit known as "MOPOL" in police circles.

Our sources revealed that Mrs. Waziri met with Jonathan and briefed him about the difficulties encountered by EFCC agents detailed to arrest Ibori since the middle of last week. “Madam basically told the acting president that Ibori’s residence in Oghara is highly fortified and is being guarded by heavily armed mobile police officers,” said our source.

A furious Jonathan, according to presidency sources, then called the IGP. “The acting president basically told the IG that, police officers were guarding Ibori, he considered Ibori to be in the IG’s custody. He therefore asked the IG to turn Ibori in accordingly.”

Though Ogbonna sounded unhappy with the request, he reportedly promised Jonathan that he would contact the Delta Commissioner of Police, Yakubu Adamu Alkali, to effect Ibori’s arrest. “Apparently, the CP stoutly refused to carry out the order,” said one of our sources, and Onovo seems to have accepted that “as his final answer to Jonathan’s order,” said our source.

This direct act of disobedience is compounded by the fact that the CP and a top Naval officer in Delta State paid a courtesy visit to the fugitive Ibori at his Oghara residence on Sunday. A source close to Ibori said the two men said they came to pledge loyalty to the ex-governor. The source added that Ibori lavishly entertained his law enforcement and military guest. The source also added that the visit had a festive air, with "a lot of eating, drinking and bantering between Chief Ibori andhis visitors".

The member of the advisory council who spoke to us confidentially revealed that Jonathan was weighing several responses to the act of defiance by the police authorities, but he would not enumerate what those options are.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

saharareporters and their over-Exaggerated stories. . .

I wonder what would happen to a lot of media houses that report Nigerian news if things just got a whole lot better because it seems they are in business when things are bad. Or, will they now start manufacturing stories to keep up with the revenue?