The main opposition Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, has reported President Muhammadu Buhari to the British
Prime Minister, Theresa May, and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.
The party is accusing Buhari of
disrespecting the judiciary.
PDP further told both leaders
that Buhari and his APC-led Federal Government were engaging in what it
described as impunity and other anti-democratic vices.
PDP National Chairman, Prince
Uche Secondus, signed the party’s petition which was made available to
journalists in Abuja on Tuesday.
In the petition, the party also
accused the Federal Government of using the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, to intimidate the members of the opposition.
The petition partly read, “Sadly,
the unfettered freedom and respect for human dignity entrenched by our party
has been eroded in the last three years of the current administration.
“An important institution like
the EFCC, which was established by the PDP government under President Olusegun
Obasanjo and graciously still supported by international friends of Nigeria,
including the taxpayers of the European Union, to professionally deal with the
scourge of corruption, has now lost its essence and original intentions of the
founders to become the Buhari administration’s tool for persecution of
opposition members and perceived political opponents.
“The EFCC, under this
administration, has metamorphosed into a draconian agency, showing scant regard
for the rule of law and respect for human rights.
“The commission has turned the
process of investigation into a media event to embarrass and tarnish the image
of key opposition figures and sub-national governments of the federation
perceived to be averse to the whims and electoral interest of the ruling party.
“The recent outburst by President
Buhari that he will jail more looters, created national outrage and concern
about the role of the judiciary and respect of our institutions.
“Also, his recent declaration, at
an event of the Nigerian Bar Association, that the rule of law will take second
stage on issues involving alleged threat to national security, raises fresh
concern about this administration’s attitude and respect for constitutional
rule.
“These revealing statements from
the President provide context for the treasonable attack, by armed operatives
of the secret police, on the National Assembly, blocking members of the
opposition from gaining access to their offices.
“It also explains the licence
behind the continued unlawful detention of Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), a former
National Security Adviser, against multiple court orders mandating his release
as well as the documented cases of human right abuses, including arbitrary and
extrajudicial executions, unlawful arrests and detentions, torture, impunity,
restriction of free speech and press freedom as catalogued in the reports by
the United States Department of States and other international agencies.
“At this critical moment in
Nigeria’s political development we cannot afford to revert to the impunity of
governance that characterised our military past.
“We, therefore, enjoin you, Madam
Prime Minister, to use your immense clout to impress on President Buhari and
his administration to immediately retreat from the path of authoritarianism and
embrace the ideals associated with a democracy.
“President Buhari’s antecedents
and current flirtation with dictatorship should not be allowed to reverse the
gains of liberal democracy to which the PDP and the UK are committed.
“Your intervention, at this time,
will help Nigeria and indeed Africa to avert a looming crisis that will divide
Nigeria along its emerging fault lines.”
The PDP also called on May and
Merkel not to allow Buhari derail Nigeria’s democracy with his actions and
utterances.
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com