Taraba State Police Command last late Friday night arrested Mr. Hassan Mijinyawa, Chief Press Secretary to state governor, Mr. Danbaba Suntai.
Also arrested were four other unnamed loyalists of the governor.
Sources in Jalingo, the state capital told Pointblanknews.com that Mijinyawa was ambushed and arrested by a team of policemen from the state Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).
Confirming the arrest, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Jibril Adeniji, told Pointblanknews.com on the telephone that his men arrested Mijinyawa and four others.
“Yes, they were arrested around 00.00 hours (midnight) for unlawful assembly, with intent to cause breach of the peace,” the police boss told Pointblanknews.com.
The CP confirmed that Mijinyawa and the four other arrestees would be arraigned on Monday.
Commenting on the arrest, immediate past Commissioner for Information in the state, and Suntai’s loyalist, Hon. Emmanuel Bello, said Mijinyawa was arrested late Friday night and has been denied access to his family and lawyer.
On the reason for the arrest, Bello said such may not be unconnected with recent comments by Mijinyawa that Suntai’s deputy, Alhaji Garba Umar, betrayed his boss.
Mijinyawa’s arrest may have further strained the frosty relationship between Governor Suntai and Umar, whom a faction of the House of Assembly, and national leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insist is acting governor.
OUR ERROR
Our attention has been drawn to the mix up in our weekend report on the arrest by the police of the media aide to the Taraba State Governor, Mr. Danbaba Suntai.
In the report, we errornously listed the arrested media aide as the Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Hassan Mijinyawa.
We have since realised that it was Mr. Sylvester Yakubu Giwa, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity that was arrested.
The error is regretted.