Bukola Saraki, Senate President, has called for the unconditional release of Deji Adeyanju, detained political activist.
Mr Adeyanju travail started when he led a protest demanding service chiefs to be apolitical as the next goes to elect its leaders in next year’s general election.
Some service chiefs had graced a political event in honour of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is seeking a second term in office. It was on this basis that triggered the protest.
Adeyanju was arrested alongside his colleagues, they were immediately arraigned on sundry charges, granted bail and he was released after spending eight days behind bars.
On release, he returned to the Police which previously arrested him to retrieve one of his 3 phones and was arrested again to stand trial for an old case, for which he had been discharged and acquitted by a court in Kano years ago.
Adeyanju was then remanded in prison till February 6, 2019 when the matter could be heard at a higher court.
The top lawmaker said Adeyanju’s travail was more political than judicial and urged the Mr Buhari to order his release.
Saraki urged the president to set the activist free as keeping him behind bars portrayed the present administration in bad light as a government that is intolerant of criticism and suppressing views of the opposition, indicating that dictatorial tendencies are becoming rife in a democratic country.
In a statement by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Yusuph Olaniyonu, the Senate President said the action of the police indicated a deliberate attempt to get Adeyanju out of circulation.
“The way the matter has been handled and the last decision of the Magistrate Court to remand the young man in prison till after the conclusion of the 2019 Polls has presented our democracy in bad light. We are now looking like a country that has receded to the period of military rule,” Saraki said.
“The President needs to intervene to find out whether the current travail of Deji Adeyanju has anything to do with his frequently expressed viewpoints against the Federal Government and why his arrest after leading a protest has now ignited all the various charges being filed against him and if it was true that the charges for which he has been remanded in prison till February had actually being adjudicated upon by the High Court.
“It should be noted that prior to the coming to office of this government, those of us in opposition, the APC, freely criticized the Goodluck Jonathan government and flayed their actions and statements without any attempt by the administration to stifle opposing views. This administration which benefitted from such open market place of ideas, which is a key tenet of a democratic regime, cannot offer anything less to our people.
“At this point, President Buhari should not allow the excesses and over-zealousness of some security agents to give his government a bad name and that is why I think he should interfere and let the world know the truth about this case. It is obvious that this case is purely political and not about any judicial action. I also call on all human rights protection groups to wade into this matter and ensure we do not watch helplessly as the rights of a citizen is being trampled upon”, Saraki added.
