The Nigeria Police Force says it has launched a manhunt for one Inusa Saidu Biu, a riot policeman, who threatened to kill 200 persons if ailing President Muhammadu dies.
The police stated that it had commenced investigation into the content of his post on the social media, with a view to identifying the policeman and taking necessary actions.
Biu took to his Facebook timeline on Tuesday, claiming that some persons he tagged as enemies of the President were orchestrating his (Buhari) death.
He rained curses on the so called enemies and threatened to take 200 lives if Buhari died from the illness.
He wrote, “After they poisoned him, God did not let him die; Buhari, the cat with nine lives. Now they want him to resign so that they would continue to steal our ‘yam’ (treasury). No way; your enemies will die like mosquitoes before you, including those who are commenting negatively. Shege ya buro uba, Zamu ci uwaku. If Buhari dies, I promise to kill 200 people.”
The post, which had been deleted from Biu’s timeline, triggered reactions from commentators, who let out a stream of invectives on him.
Some Nigerians on the social media also called for his arrest and prosecution, noting that the post could incite crisis in the country.
“I wish to alert the Inspector-General of Police and the entire police force on the recent outburst of a man by name, Inusa Saidu Biu, from the Biu Local Goverment Area in Borno State in mobile police uniform, threatening the unity of this great country. If truly he is still serving in the Nigeria Police Force, I think he needs to be picked up and prosecuted in order to serve as a deterrent to his likes who portray the force in bad light with their bad influence on the general public,” a Facebook user, Olabisi Adeniyi, wrote.
Another poster, Mock Samuel Kure, said Inusa was unprofessional and desperate, urging the police to disarm him before he made good his threat.
He wrote, “The likes of Inusa Saidu Biu don’t have any business holding our guns. How can a serving policeman threaten to kill 200 persons if God decides to call Buhari, His servant, home?
“Buhari is a living being with life and blood and will definitely die one day like all mortals.
“The dangerous thing is that Inusa Biu has made up his mind to bring down 200 persons for no just cause, hence, it is a thing of utmost concern to all citizens since we don’t know the day or hour that the angel of death will visit Buhari. Characters like Inusa Saidu Biu should be disarmed.”
One Nyor Cosmas stated that Biu had abused his freedom of speech and demanded that he should be tried accordingly.
“It seems to me people are unaware what right is here in Nigeria. Police officer promised to kill 200 people and nothing is done while our constitution gives a room to try such a person. One may say ‘he has freedom of speech.’ Yes, he has, but there is limitation which he has exceeded,” he said.
However, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Moshood Jimoh, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, said the police headquarters was aware of the post. He said the police had commenced a search to know whether he was actually a policeman.
He said, “We have seen the post and we are investigating it. Anybody can post anything on the social media. We first need to ascertain if that man is a policeman and the necessary procedure will be taken. A policeman should not make public comment on social issues. We are investigating and will make the findings public very soon.” From Punch.