Lamido’s Arrest, Act of Despotism, Say Ex-PDP Ministers
The recent arrest and arraignment of former Governor of Jigawa state, Alhaji Sule Lamido, has been described as executive despotism and “brazen violation of fundamental human rights by the Nigeria Police.”
In a press statement signed by the former Minister of National Planning, Professor Abubakar O Sulaiman, on behalf of the PDP Ex-Ministers Forum, the group decried the ceaseless intimidation of PDP members by the police.
According to the statement made available to Forefront on Thursday, “We, the PDP ex-Ministers feel saddened by the kind of lawlessness, persecution and ceaseless intimidation of our members by the current APC government on trump up charges and phantom allegations that are unknown to any extant existing Law of the land.
“The Inspector General of Police, Idris K. Ibrahim, acting for the Muhammadu Buhari-led government, should be bold enough to tell Nigerians how inciting was Lamido’s statement and the extent to which it constitutes threat to National Security.
“No doubt, Lamido’s current travail marks the beginning of second phase of rudeness maltreatment of opposition, especially members of the PDP. We however condemn in totality this heinous act of tyranny and despotism by the current government.
“We equally urge the IGP to release Sule Lamido and withdraw any charges they might have been levelled against him, in the interest of peace, justice and sustainability of our hard-earned democracy.
“We should no longer take this country for granted, as nobody, not even the law enforcement agencies have the monopoly of coercion. The earlier we allow the supremacy of law to take precedent over the rule of brute force, the better.”
