The Senator representing Bayelsa East Senatorial District, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce has ordered the immediate release of his colleague, and Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Senator Dino Melaye, after his alleged arrest by the immigration police. This is coming after Senator Dino Melaye raised the alarm that he has been arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on his way to Morocco for an official engagement.
But is it not strange to see Senator Ben Murray-Bruce who is of the Peoples Democratic Party, an opposition party in Nigeria calling for the release of Senator Dino Melaye who himself is of the ruling Party of the All Progressives Congress? I mean, given that the general elections of 2019 are around the corner, and how Nigerian politicians usually play their politics, one would have been expecting more of a criticism of APC and its members which in this case is Senator Melaye; just as it has been between the ruling party and the opposition time immemorial. The reaction has been rather the opposition supporting the ruling party member who has just been allegedly arrested…Brotherhood of Senators you want to say?
In calling for the release of the Senator, Senator Bruce took to his social media page to say:
I call for the immediate and unconditional release of@dino_melaye. He is one of the few voices left that still speaks truth to power. Nigeria needs men like that and the Dino I know will not be cowed by arrest or persecution.