The  Maitama , Abuja residence of Senator Dino Melaye, the lawmaker representing Kogi East Senatorial District at the National Assembly has been under police cordon this Monday. It is not yet clear if the motive of the police is to arrest him.

Senator Melaye was earlier in morning arrested by officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) at the international wing of the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja.

The Senator tweeted that he was arrested on Monday morning on his way to Morocco for an official engagement sponsored by the Nigerian government.

Melaye was declared wanted and placed on Interpol watch list on March 28 by the Kogi State Command of the Nigeria Police for allegedly providing false information on an alleged assassination attempt on his life last year.

A statement from the police also claimed that some suspects whom they paraded on March 19 were part of an armed robbery gang terrorizing Kogi State and who had fingered the Senator as their arms supplier.  Melaye has however severally denied that allegation.

“All the six suspects, Senator Melaye and Mohammed Audu were sent for watchlisting and red notice by the INTERPOL for immediate arrest anywhere we see them,” Commissioner of Police, Ali Janga said in the statement.

Although the suspects later escaped on March 28, Melaye insists that the suspects did not escape by their own will, accusing the Police of either killing them or being complicit in their escape from custody.

He was eventually released after a few hours. Narrating his ordeal just before he regained his freedom, Melaye later told reporters on phone: “Myself and the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and others were to be on an official trip to Morocco but while some have gone through the Lagos Airport today, others are to depart tomorrow.

“I got to this Airport. I was checked in and was already in the lounge waiting for departure. Immigration officers invited me that there is a directive from the Police that I can’t travel; that I’m on their watch list. And I said it was not true, that the INTERPOL said they had not issued an alert on me.

“I opened INTERPOL’s website and showed them the denial. But they insisted that it was based on the directive from the Police. I was disembarked and they asked me to go to their office.

“They snatched my passport but I snatched my thing back from them. I got it back! I’m still here with them. They circled one and said they were waiting for further instructions from the police.”