By Teddy Nwanunobi
Abuja (Sundiata Post) — The Ahmed Makarfi-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Thursday, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) government of vendetta from the way it has continued to arrest and detain its members for long periods without trial, saying that Nigeria is being turned into a “gestapo state” by the APC-led Federal Government.
The PDP National Caretaker Committee (NCC), through a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Dayo Adeyeye, in Abuja, the Party expressed fear that the country is fast drifting into a dictatorship.
In a statement entitled ‘Nigeria Is Now A Gestapo State Under APC’, the opposition Party, therefore, warned that there will be possible anarchy under the APC government.
“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, CON is once again constrained to alert Nigerians that the nation is fast drifting into a dictatorship and possible anarchy under the All Progressive Congress (APC) government.
“Prominent leaders and citizens of this great country, especially, the governors, ministers and other public office holders during the previous PDP administration have been arrested in a gestapo manner, and detained indefinitely without trial. Absurd!
“For instance, the former Governor of Benue State, Rt. Hon. Gabriel Suswam, was arrested by men of the Directorate of State Security Service (DSS), and has been in detention for over two months now without trial. Also, the former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, was arrested on April 5, 2017 by officers of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), and like the others, he has been in detention, and yet, no case has been filed against him in any court by the anti-graft Agency.
Suswam
“Former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki, has been in custody for about two (2) years now without trial. Similar brutality, arrest and mindless detention went on with other PDP leaders and members that were arrested by either the DSS or the EFCC.
“It is no gainsaying that under the present APC-led government, the agencies arrest suspects, convict them in the media, and detain them against the Law before they are proven innocent or otherwise by the court. It is also very clear in the Constitution of Nigeria that no security agency has the right or power to detain suspects more than 48 hours without trial.
“Ironically, while former leaders and members of PDP are being arrested indiscriminately and detained without trial, other former office holders of the ruling APC, who have been accused of various corrupt practices, are yet to be arrested; but instead, are compensated with juicy ministerial appointments. Double standard!
Aliyu
“We are in a constitutional democracy, and as such, the present APC administration must lead by example and obey court orders. It is on record that most of these suspects have been granted bail by the courts of the land and the ECOWAS Court in the case of Col. Sambo Dasuki. This is sheer lawlessness!
“We wish to further assure the public that the PDP is not against the anti-corruption fight. Our stand is that the present APC government must follow due process in dealing with issues of corruption as the PDP did during its governments without violating human rights of citizens, especially those suspects that may later be found innocent by the law court.
Dasuki
“In this context, the actions of this APC administration is a clear case of injustice and vendetta. We hereby call on the ruling government to charge all those in detention to court as a matter of urgency, and those granted bail by the courts must be freed immediately. As a law abiding Party, we shall deploy all constitutional means – both domestically and internationally – to seek redress on this gestapo rule.
“Finally, the ruling APC must understand, by now, that Nigerians are fed up with this undemocratic rule. Again, we advise this government to stop, forthwith, all actions that tend to heat up the system, and push citizens into taking extreme measures in self defence. The economic hardship brought upon Nigerians by APC misrule is bad enough, abridging the people’s rights on top of that is like adding salt to injury,” the statement read.
