Date Published: 05/24/11

Lagos ACN Condemn Ugbah’s Arrest, Damns Police for Complicity.

The Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria has condemned in strong terms, the arrest and detention of the Benue State candidate of the ACN in the last governorship election, Prof. Steve Ugbah. The party sees the arrest as the height of what is turning out a bloody and desperate attempt to put Ugbah, who most Benue citizens believe, won the last gubernatorial election in Benue out or circulation.

In a release in Lagos, signed by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Joe Igbokwe, the party said that what is happening in Benue is an annoying employment of state power to persecute the victims of the rigging scheme of the PDP in Benue and target his supporters and close allies for elimination. The party, while demanding for the immediate and unconditional release of Prof. Ugbah warned that the desperate attitude of the PDP will lead to the failure of the present democracy if nothing is done to check this dangerous trend.

“We have noted the increasing persecution of ACN members and supporters in Benue State, which is following a general trend, especially in Akwa Ibom State shortly before the last general election. We note that several PDP state governments went berserk with the legitimate challenge of opposition parties to their hold on power and went extra miles to persecute and victimize members and supporters of opposition parties en route the last election. Akwa Ibom and Benue States stood out in this resort to bloody and desperate means to cage the opposition and rein in all specters of opposition to sitting governors.

“Lagos ACN notes with anger and displeasure the complicit role the police has been playing in PDP’s desperate effort to thwart the democratic rights of Nigerians to aspire for elective positions. We note with great awe that the police has turned the enforcement arm of the PDP and its state governments in their bids to retain power by all means, despite the wishes of the people. Nigerians saw this excessive pandering to the devilish desires of the PDP in Akwa Ibom where a desperate governor employed the police to with hunt, detain and cook up charges against his main opponent. We are seeing it being carried to ridiculous heights in Benue where the PDP state government has, once again, used the police to hunt and persecute the ACN candidates and his supporters even after the election.

“What is making the Benue case more worrisome is that the ACN candidate survived a deadly assassination attempt just a week ago while some of his associates were either killed or gravely injured in the devilish attempt. We are even surprised that the police is not hunting the perpetrators of this dastardly act but are now fully involved in an effort to put off Prof. Ugbah by all means. We are surprised that the police have teamed up with the alleged people that procured the assassination attempt on Ugbah to further detain him, assault and harass his freedom using spurious allegations.

“Lagos ACN condemns these increasing acts of state sponsored terrorism against Ugbah who is presently involved in a legal effort to retrieve his stolen mandate from the PDP. We condemn the increasing visitation of state terrorism on Ugbah and the targeting of his supporters and allies for elimination, attack and various forms of persecution. We condemn the police indifference to these spates of increasing violence on Ugbah and members of the ACN in Benue and we condemn the police effort to rather heighten such persecution. We demand the immediate, unconditional release of Prof Ugbah and all the arrested members of the ACN in Benue. We call for the immediate lifting of the state of siege being imposed on CAN members in Benue State and we warn that this predilection to using the police to prosecute the selfish and inordinate interest of the PDP will lead to anarchy if not checked and will spell doom for the present democracy”.