Olushola Omogbehin
An activist and public affairs analyst, Adekunle Adebayo, has cried out over what he called plan to arrest, intimidate and silence the voice of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and other key opposition figures in Nigeria.
He revealed this on Tuesday in a statement made available to DAILY POST where he warned that the alleged move is a deliberate attempt to silence opposition and enthrone a de facto one-party system in the country.
According to the allegation, Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai have been penciled for arrest and other political figures, like Isa Ali Pantami, Rauf Aregbesola, Kashim Ibrahim Imam.
He explained that the alleged plan is a follow-up to the earlier arrests and detentions of former governors of Sokoto and Anambra states, Aminu Tambuwal and Chris Ngige, as well as former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
Warning that if the said arrests are implemented, it would amount to serious violations of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Adebayo cited threats to personal liberty, freedom of association and expression, equality before the law, and the independence of the judiciary.
“Selective application of law enforcement based on political affiliation is incompatible with constitutional democracy,” Adebayo stated.
He therefore pleaded that Nigerians, civil society organisations and the international community to keenly monitor unfolding events, so that the country does not slide into a system where democracy exist only in form and political power is reduced to coercion and selective justice.
