Secondus Slams Buhari Over Harassment Of Melaye

Agency ReporterMay 8, 2018

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The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to check the growing incidence of human rights abuses and harassment of opposition elements in the country.

In his reaction to the alleged harassment of Senator Dino Malaye and Senator Shehu Sani, the PDP boss warned the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Buhari that Nigeria is not in military rule, but democracy.

Secondus while responding to questions from journalists recently in Abuja, added that “on Ekiti election, processes have begun, we have done the three-man committee, ward delegates. On Tuesday there will be state congress to elect our candidate. Thereafter campaign will start and you know the governor has done very well in that state. So we are sure that the state will still remain PDP state.

The PDP chairman lamented that “the fear of everybody around the globe, not only Nigeria, is that Nigeria has turned to be a police state by the (APC) government of President Buhari and he has introduced some elements he used when he was head of state, arresting, harassing and intimidating people. You don’t do that in democracy, you allow the rule of law to reign.

Secondus said: “We are not in the military era. Look at how Senator Dino Melaye was treated. A senator should be treated with all amount of civility. And we believe that if he has done anything wrong; let him be taken to court in a good manner and not like a common criminal. So you can see that more of things like this will be coming to the opposition if they could treat their own persons like this.

“Remember when we raised the alarm of the conspiracy theory of the APC, you know what is happening to distinguished Senator Shehu Sani, his being framed up and quite a number of people, they just pick them and charge them. It is not going to resolve the problem, don’t turn Nigeria into a police state, everybody is living in fear as if we are in Abacha’s regime, he lamented.

He revealed that “this government is intimidating our people, but we will resist, we will not be afraid, nothing can intimidate us. Because our leaders, our founding fathers wrestle power from the military and brought this democracy, so we will maintain it despite all the harassment, media trial, media jailing and all sort of things that the ruling part have deployed against the opposition.

He urged members of the public to speak out against the APC, assuring them that their freedom of expression is guaranteed in the democratic system of government that we adopted and that his party is working day and night to bring like minds together, to a common front so that they can work together for the interest of the country.