The rumour making the rounds yesterday that the Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari was arrested by joint operatives from the Department of State Security Services and the Nigerian Police Force at the Commissions Abuja head office has been proved to be false.
Kari who spoke to BusinessDay said he was never arrested by anybody.
“They said I am arrested, but I am in my house speaking with you now. This is just a propaganda. I attended a meeting of Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions on the Commission’s 2016 budget performance meeting today, with some members of my management”.
Kari said that actually the labour union of the commission was staging a protest this morning with placards and chanting of songs, locking the entrance to the Commission’s office. But we have written to them before now for dialogue and some of the issues they raised including transferring of some staff were being looked into. Some of them who have health conditions that would require them to stay close to their doctors in Abuja have been recalled, so we were surprised to see them protest this morning, the commissioner said.
In a statement by the Commissions assistant director, corporate Affairs, Rasaq Salami said “The national insurance Commission wishes to state that the Commissioner for insurance Mohammed Kari was at the senate today being 23rd November 2016 to honour his earlier invitation from the Senate committee on Banking, insurance and other financial institutions on the Commission’s 2016 budget performance. He was never arrested by the Department of state service as being circulated.
BusinessDay gathered that Kari was escorted out of the Commissions premises by NAICOM’s security team involving Police and men of the DSS, to avoid being attacked by the protesting staff. This is what the propagandist took to the street and labeled it arrest by DSS.
According to our source, one of the leadership of the Union was part of the directorate of the Commission recently transferred to the Lagos office of the Commission, and for this reason have mobilized other members to stop the transfer.
Modestus Anaesoronye
