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The two leading political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are presently pointing fingers at each other over Sunday morning’s babaric killing of Barrister Ahmed Gulak, an APC chieftain in the Imo state capital, Owerri.
Gulak was also a former member of the PDP, the platform where he served as Adamawa House of Assembly speaker as well as the political adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan.
In a statement on Monday, APC National Secretary
Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), John James Akpanudoedehe cautioned the PDP for being too excited with the demise of the politician.
He said, “While majority of Nigerians sympathise with the victims of crimes in the country, it is discernible that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is apparently excited about the security incidents being perpetrated by evil-doers against the citizens.
“The APC reiterates the need for continuous support and cooperation with the security services who put their lives on the line to protect us and our property.
“The APC as all well-meaning Nigerians is calling for national unity to fight crimes in the country and urge relevant security agencies to leave no stone unturned in their efforts to track down and swiftly bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice.:
However, the PDP said it stands by its findings and declaration that APC and its leaders are responsible for the killings, bloodletting and acts of terrorism in the country.
National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan said the PDP asserts that the resort to blackmail, threats and attack on the party and other well-meaning Nigerians as witnessed in APC’ statement today, in which it attempted to trivialize, politicize and dismiss the alarming violence in the country, cannot deter the PDP from further exposing the atrocities of the APC and its leaders.
“Our party insists that every material evidence shows that the APC and its leaders are implementing their Janjaweed agenda to balkanize and destroy our nation through their unholy body language, divisive policies, violent acts, abuse of human rights, disregard to our national sensibilities and shameful patronizing of terrorists and bandits, which have led to widespread killings, violence and dissonances across our nation.
“The APC and its administration have become sanctuaries of known and self-confessed terrorism apologists and individuals known to openly romance with bandits and terrorists.
“The APC and its government would rather blame victims of violence instead of going after the assailants and bringing them to book as witnessed in the case of the 43 rice farmer killed by terrorists in Borno as well as the murder of the former political adviser to erstwhile President Goodluck Joanthan, Barr. Ahmed Gulak.
“Our party sternly berates the national leadership of the APC for seeking, in its press statement today, to politicize the gruesome murder of a prominent Nigerian like Ahmed Gulak, an incident that happened in a state under its control, instead of forcefully condemning that act and giving its government a definite marching order to bring the culprits to book.
“Nigerians are still expecting some explanations from the APC and its government over that gruesome murder in Ngor Okpalla.
“It is rather absurd and a mark of leadership failure that the APC is attacking the PDP for exposing its failures and complicity in the violence and killings in our country but has failed to provide answers to revelations that many of the bandits, terrorists and kidnappers ravaging our nation are political mercenaries it imported, as criminal thugs, to assist it to unleash violence on Nigerians during elections.
“These APC mercenaries, having no stake in our national life, are now killing and maiming Nigerians and turning their evil enterprise, emboldened by the APC, into a lucrative venture by extorting money through huge ransoms.
“Of course, it is no longer news that parents of kidnapped students of Greenfield University Kaduna paid N180 million and motorcycles to the abductor to secure the release of their children and wards. Just on the heels of the release of the university students, over 200 students were abducted from another school in Tegina, Niger state.
“We challenge APC to come clean on the connection of its leaders with these bandits as well as why it has never raised a strong voice against the incessant mass abduction of students in various parts of the country.
“Our party wants the APC and its leaders to know that they must answer for their atrocities and that this resort to blackmails, threats and distortion of facts will not sway Nigerians.”