A man, Musa Inuah Dalhatu on Tuesday climbed a telecommunication mast beside the Federal High Court at the Maitama district of Abuja saying he would commit suicide unless the Chief Judge invoked his powers and compels former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to pay him a N15 million debt.
Mr Dalhatu who was sighted on the mast at about 12.15p.m, alleged that he had executed a project for the former Vice President while he was in power to the tune of N15 million, saying efforts to recover the money had proved abortive.
The protester said he would not come down until either Mr Atiku was produced in court or the Acting Inspector General of Police agrees to investigate the veracity of his allegation with a view to recovering his money.
The protester remained on top of the mast which is equivalent to a 15 storey building for over three hours and refused to give head to all entreaties from a rescue team comprising of officers from the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA; Nigeria Federal Fire Service and a team of Police officers led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sunday Odukoya and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Moshood Jimoh.
Speaking to him with the aid of a megaphone an official of NEMA told him in Hausa “we plead with you in the name of God. We love and care about you, listen to us, come down and we will help you solve your problem.”
The team finally persuaded him to come down around 4:25p.m after assuring him that he would be given the opportunity to speak with the Acting Inspector General of Police.
The FCT police command said that the protester will be taken into protective custody while the case is being investigated.
“The next thing now is to investigate to actually know what has prompted this act before we know what the next line of action will be,” the FCT PPRO said.
