Breaking:Dino melaye released !!!

Dino Melaye, the Kogi senator who was arrested in Abuja early Monday, has been released after a stand-off that lasted about two and a half hours, his spokesperson has told PREMIUM TIMES

“Yes, he had been released almost an hour ago,” Gideon Ayodele told PREMIUM TIMES by telephone shortly after 11:00 a.m. Monday.

Mr Melaye, who represents Kogi West Senatorial District, was arrested by the Nigerian Immigration Service at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Monday morning.

He said he was on his way to Morocco on an official assignment sponsored by the Nigerian government when he was held by security.

The NIS confirmed responsibility for Mr Melaye’s arrest to PREMIUM TIMES.

The arrest, which followed weeks of controversies between the senator and the police, generated widespread reaction Monday morning. While some welcomed it as deserving of a controversial lawmaker like Mr Melaye, others criticised the arrest as an act of executive recklessness.

Some of Mr Melaye’s colleagues at the Senate, like Ben Murray-Bruce, condemned his arrest and called on federal authorities to release him immediately.

His arrest was initially linked to the police, who have been on a manhunt for him for several weeks, and had declared the lawmaker wanted for his alleged links to violence in Kogi state.

Mr Melaye denied wrongdoing, saying his ordeal was politically-motivated.

“He was released after the police couldn’t pin anything on him,” said Mr Ayodele. “The immigration officials who thought they were trying to help the police when they initially detained him were also embarrassed that the police couldn’t take him into custody.”