Senator Dino Melaye (APC-Kogi West) has insisted that plans to arraign him by the federal government for allegedly misleading the police would not stop him from criticising it. The government had on Sunday announced plan to arraign the lawmaker on March 1 for allegedly misinforming the Police in a case of alleged assassination attempt on his life.
Speaking at plenary at the Senate on Tuesday, Melaye said that after the assassination attempt in 2017, he gave the police names of those suspected to be after his life, given their previous utterances. He noted that the police subsequently made some arrests and guns were recovered from the suspects. Melaye said: “If this arraignment is to stop me from criticising the Federal Government, they have committed a capital and compound mistake.
"I shall continue to speak; I shall continue to ask questions; I shall continue to criticise any public officer wherever he has gone wrong.“I have conquered fear and I am not afraid of the prison.“The last administration arrested me 14 times. The Abacha and Babangida’s governments detained me.“I am not afraid of the prison, it is built because of human beings but we will continue to speak the truth not minding whose ox is gored.
"In an unjust society, silence is a crime. The battle to bring Nigeria back on track is a battle of no retreat no surrender, and I am ready to face the Federal Government on this matter.“I will fight it with the last drop of my blood; no retreat no surrender.”