The Director General of Media and Communication to Governor Abba Yusuf, Sunusi Dawakin Tofa, has narrated how he took refuge in the Kano State Government House to avoid being arrested.
He stated this while delivering an address on Saturday at the PR Nigeria Young Communication Fellowship in Kano, claiming that at least 40 officers of the Inspector General of Police monitoring team were deployed to Kano to arrest him about six days ago.
He revealed that he remained in the government house because of the constitutional immunity that disallows arrest on the premises except with the governor’s express instruction.
Tofa explained that he had a court order restricting the police from arresting him which was why he attended the event which he could not miss, adding that he was fortified against being arrested.
“For the last five days, I have been in the government house and could not come out. The nature of Kano politics is so much that there is a fight that you can even say is a federal versus state fight. And at some point, I have almost been behind almost everything of that nature.
“So there was this petition against me and nobody is handling the petition but the IGP himself. He deployed 40 IG monitoring team squad to Kano since Sunday with the sole aim of arresting me.
“So, I came out because of just three things, one, I don’t think I should miss this event even if I’m going to be arrested.
“The second issue is that I have gotten a court order which has not been served to the police but is viral, so I’m sure they must have seen it. And then the third one is that I came here well fortified to resist arrest if it happens.
Addressing the fellows, he advised them on the importance of mentorship as well as the benefits.
“So gentlemen, I will say media, communication, journalism, PR, is a very noble profession. You don’t need to be a graduate of mass communication to venture into it as much as you can get professional training and a mentor.
“In my entire life, I believe so much in maintaining a mentor. In the last 24 years, whatever I take as a decision to do in my life, I search for a mentor for that particular thing. In some areas, I get mentor 1, mentor 2 and mentor 3. Mentor 1,2,3 will give you an option. If you are so confused about something you can gather the three opinions and evaluate them and then pick the best that suits you” he advised.
Addressing newsmen the chief executive of PR Nigeria, Yusha’ Shu’aib said the program was initiated to nurture and mentor a new generation of communicators and equip them with the skills and tools to communicate.
“In the past people always thought about basic skills in communication but now with the advent of technology, we realize that the issue has to do with fact-checking.
“Therefore Artificial Intelligence and social media are very vital in communication these days” he stated.