By Emeka Nze
Abuja
The Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has explained that “the real reason for the arrest and detention of the former Jigawa state governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido has to do with the forthcoming local government elections in Jigawa state and not on the frivolous allegation of inciting the public.
A statement yesterday by the spokesman of the National Caretaker Committee, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, stated: “The long incarceration of former Governor Gabriel Suswan is also linked to the forthcoming LGA Elections in Benue state.
“The APC-led administration is fast loosing the confidence of the people because of its non-performance, high handedness and lack of empathy for the suffering of the people.
“The only option left for it is to prevent the opposition from effectively campaigning and mobilising the people for the elections. The whole strategy of the failed APC government is founded on the assumption that if there is no opposition, then they cannot be defeated.
“Hence the intimidation, harassment and incarceration of popular opposition leaders like Sule Lamido. We are aware that, we in the opposition will be in for a hard time in the Run-up to the 2019 General Elections with more arrests and intimidation of our prominent leaders.
The NCC spokesman further explained: “For the record, President Muhammadu Buhari before the 2011 general elections made several inciting statements against the rigging of the elections with grave consequences thereafter. He was never arrested nor detained.
“For this statement and others as well, he was never invited, arrested or detained by any of the security agencies under the PDP Administration.
It was not a sign of weakness by the PDP led Government. It was in deference to freedom of speech, democracy and peace.
“The APC has today unleashed the Nigerian Police, the DSS and the EFCC to harass and intimidate Court Judges, opposition leaders, social media influencers/bloggers and other Nigerians that speaks against the APC led federal or state governments on fabricated charges just to cow them.
“Lamido merely asked the people to defend their votes against rigging. How is that a crime? If you are not planning to steal the peoples’ votes, why should you be afraid if the people are advised to defend their votes? Of course, no thief would want the owner to guide his house against burglary.
“The excesses of the security agencies have now reached alarming proportions. If they must be reminded, their mandate is to defend all Nigerians and not to act as a willing instrument of oppression of the people by the autocratic APC government.
“We are, therefore, calling on the security agencies in the country to release, unconditionally, Gov Sule Lamido, the former governor of Benue state, Gabriel Suswam, former governor of Niger state, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, and all other political detainees in their custody. We are in a democracy and not a Gestapo state.
