The opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, came down hard on the ruling
All Progressive Congress, APC, over the handcuffing of Olisa Metuh while
appearing in court, describing it as an attempt to decimate opposition and
portray its members as common criminals.
In a statement signed by its National Secretary, Prof. Adewale Oladipo,
PDP said the action is a clear indication that Nigeria is fast drifting
into police state.
The statement reads:
“This development which expectedly elicited widespread public outcry
clearly betrays an extra-judicial, top political witch-hunt policy of the
APC, carefully designed to humiliate, embarrass and portray PDP leaders as
common criminals and set the stage to cow and decimate opposition and
perceived foes of the government”.
“The question remains, if not to mortify, dehumanize and break our
National Publicity Secretary, who has been very vocal against the APC
administration, and of course to send a signal to others critical of the
government, what else would have informed the decision to produce him in
court in handcuffs, even when his case does not border on security
threat?”
Is this an attempt to sway the court and ambush the judicial process
against our National Publicity Secretary, all because of his stance
against observed ineptitude and dictatorial tendencies of this
administration?
The PDP invites all Nigerians and the international community to note the
emerging barefaced abuse of state power and violation of constitutional
provisions regarding the arrest, detention and eventual arraignment of our
spokesperson.
Nigerians by now, should be extremely scared that our country is fast
drifting into a police state where being in opposition or holding views
divergent to that of the government makes one a criminal and an enemy of
the state.
For now, the target of the on-going lopsided war against corruption is the
PDP and its leaders. All APC members, including those with known
corruption issues are immune from investigation, arrest and prosecution.
However, more worrisome is the fact that institutions of government,
especially security and corrective agencies have now fallen victims of
dictatorial abuses. Our fear now is that in no time, ordinary citizens of
Nigerians, who in the last 16 years have lived under the rule of law and
constitutionally guaranteed personal liberty, would begin to suffer
brutality and oppression.
Under PDP administration, some Nigerians, including APC leader and former
Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu were tried but never
humiliated; now we see security operatives under this regime being used to
crush and humiliate the opposition.
Finally, while we study the bail conditions, we urge all PDP members to
remain calm, united, focused and continue to pray for the nation and her
people. We also urge the media to remain on the side of justice, fairness
and rule of law and resist the pressure of being used as a tool to promote
arbitrariness and abuse of process in the so-called fight against
corruption.