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| Olisa Metuh |
The People's
Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded the immediate release of the party’s
National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh, who was yesterday arrested and
detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The party
warned that Metuh’s arrest and detention could be the last straw against
democracy, saying the party spokesman’s arrest was a grand design to silence
and decimate the PDP.
A
statement by National Secretary Prof. Wale Oladipo, said the arrest did
not come as a surprise, given series of threats to his life by the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC) and the Federal Government.
The party
raised the alarm that the security agencies were planning to kill its
spokesman.
The statement
said: “The arrest of Chief Metuh today underscores the growing political
intolerance in our country and the foisting of a police state which was last
Wednesday underscored by the President and Commander-in-Chief himself, who
defended why a government in a democracy should flout constitutional provision
and brazenly disobey court orders.
“This onslaught against our spokesman, according to intelligence available to
us, is part of a larger script by the government to ensure that PDP wings are
finally clipped in their mission to install a dictatorial one-party state in
the country.
“The excesses
of security agencies under this government, especially the Directorate of
Security Services (DSS) and the EFCC, in abridging the human rights of PDP
members have become worrisome and a threat to our democratic evolution.
“Nigerians
and the international community will recall that on a number of occasions, the
PDP, through its spokesman has been outspoken on some undemocratic proclivities
being exhibited by the APC-led Federal Government in the last seven months.
“The PDP
insists that for whatever reason Chief Metuh was arrested, his rights as a
citizen under the law must not be trampled upon. We therefore demand for his
immediate release and that due process of investigation and prosecution
concerning him should be strictly adhered to.
“We state
this because we have been made aware of top directives to break Chief Metuh and
if possible poison him during his detention by the EFCC. Chief Metuh, has
since his arrest at about 10 am, has been kept incommunicado, with his
lawyers denied access to him.
“The PDP
declares the arrest of our spokesman as the last straw that may break our
democracy. We therefore forewarn the Federal Government and its agencies to
save our democracy and forthwith release our National Publicity Secretary.
“We are also
calling on the international community and well-meaning Nigerians to stand up
for this democracy, which our party nurtured for 16 years and deepened to a
level where the opposition, for the first time in our political history, had
the opportunity to win in a general election”.
The People’s
Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded the immediate release of the party’s
National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh, who was yesterday arrested and
detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The party
warned that Metuh’s arrest and detention could be the last straw against
democracy, saying the party spokesman’s arrest was a grand design to silence
and decimate the PDP.
A
statement by National Secretary Prof. Wale Oladipo, said the arrest did
not come as a surprise, given series of threats to his life by the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC) and the Federal Government.
The party
raised the alarm that the security agencies were planning to kill its
spokesman.
The statement
said: “The arrest of Chief Metuh today underscores the growing political
intolerance in our country and the foisting of a police state which was last Wednesday
underscored by the President and Commander-in-Chief himself, who defended why a
government in a democracy should flout constitutional provision and brazenly
disobey court orders.
“This
onslaught against our spokesman, according to intelligence available to us, is
part of a larger script by the government to ensure that PDP wings are finally
clipped in their mission to install a dictatorial one-party state in the
country.
“The excesses
of security agencies under this government, especially the Directorate of
Security Services (DSS) and the EFCC, in abridging the human rights of PDP
members have become worrisome and a threat to our democratic evolution.
“Nigerians
and the international community will recall that on a number of occasions, the
PDP, through its spokesman has been outspoken on some undemocratic proclivities
being exhibited by the APC-led Federal Government in the last seven months.
“The PDP
insists that for whatever reason Chief Metuh was arrested, his rights as a
citizen under the law must not be trampled upon. We therefore demand for his
immediate release and that due process of investigation and prosecution
concerning him should be strictly adhered to.
“We state
this because we have been made aware of top directives to break Chief Metuh and
if possible poison him during his detention by the EFCC. Chief Metuh, has
since his arrest at about 10 am, has been kept incommunicado, with his
lawyers denied access to him.
“The PDP
declares the arrest of our spokesman as the last straw that may break our
democracy. We therefore forewarn the Federal Government and its agencies to
save our democracy and forthwith release our National Publicity Secretary.
“We are also
calling on the international community and well-meaning Nigerians to stand up
for this democracy, which our party nurtured for 16 years and deepened to a
level where the opposition, for the first time in our political history, had
the opportunity to win in a general election”.
Source: The Nation
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