By Baron Ike
“The country is on a keg of gunpowder at the moment as a result of your hatchet job for the ruling government and I warn you to get away from this illegitimate job of using instruments of state to harass and intimidate opponents.”
The above excerpt was part of what the National chairman of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus told the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu over his series of harassment and intimidation of PDP members.
During the weekend, it was reported that the EFCC froze the accounts of the running mate to the PDP presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Also on Saturday, a raid was conducted in the apartment housing the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar’s sons where incidentally, the sons of the former governor of Abia State, Theodore Orji reside.
Secondus alleged that the Federal Government and the ruling party had listed critical players in the opposition camp including himself, the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, his running-mate, Peter Obi, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, other top party leaders and their associates for arrest on trumped up charges.
The national chairman said Magu had made himself a willing tool to carry out the APC script on how to cage and crush the PDP.
Secondus said in a statement through his media office signed by his media adviser, Ike Abonyi, that available intelligence showed that the former Lagos State Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio were presiding over clandestine meetings and developing strategies for the APC which was aimed at freezing the accounts of critical leaders of the opposition.
He said that aside arrest and detention of opposition leaders, their family members and business associates have been lined up for intimidation and harassment including freezing their business interests and their bank accounts.
The national chairman described as an afterthought EFCC’s denial that the son of the PDP presidential candidate was not the target in the raid of an apartment housing him in Abuja insisting that the game plan privy to the party was clear on who was the ultimate target.
Secondus reminded Nigerians that “these acts of impunity are in continuation of the embarrassment they caused our presidential candidate and former vice president of this country on November 11, 2019 when he was thoroughly searched at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by operatives of the state on his return from overseas on November 11, 2018.”
“After that embarrassment and harassment which was aimed at intimidating the candidate and nothing incriminating was found on him, no apology was extended to him as a former number two citizen.
“They followed it up with the freezing of the bank account of our vice presidential candidate as well as that of his friends and family members as part of a large scheme to keep the party distracted from its focus of regaining power in 2019.”
Secondus further alleged that the plot was aimed at bringing the PDP to its knees so that by January the party would be finally grounded with its leaders framed up and put behind bars.
The National Chairman said that in the script, APC and the federal government believe that the party can only bark and not bite as observed in the case of Osun and Ekiti states while indeed they are set and determined for the worse rather than lose the election.
Secondus warned that while the PDP believes and cherishes all ingredients of democracy including the rule of law, it cannot guarantee any situation that aims at cowing the opposition and thwart the will of the Nigeria people.
He chided: “Magu and other characters of his type who are willing to assist the APC in undermining democracy, to look back at history and know that the consequences are always not palatable.”
HE called on “all lovers of democracy and rule of law especially the international community to rein in President Buhari, Magu and the APC to observe the tenets of democracy that respects the sanctity of the opposition and human rights.”