Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has described the yesterday’s
arrest and detention of the Kogi State Deputy Governor-Elect, Hon
James Abiodun Faleke and Mr Mohammed Audu, son of the late former
Governor of Kogi State and All Progressives Congress (APC)
governorship candidate, Abubakar Audu, as a confirmation of his
prediction that penchant for dictatorship will rise this year with
rampant disobedience human rights abuses by the APC government of
President Mohammadu Buhari.
The governor said even though Faleke and Audu were released very late
on Saturday by men of the Department of State Security (DSS),
Nigerians should by the arrest brace up for a full-blown dictatorship.
In a statement issued on Sunday, by his Special Assistant on Public
Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said “it
is now clear that Nigerians can no longer hold opinion different from
that of President Buhari and his faction of the APC and this should
worry lovers of democracy in the country.”
He said arresting and humiliating Faleke and Audu by the DSS, just
because they choose to pursue their rights within the ambit of the law
was a dangerous trend that all Nigerians, irrespective of political
party affiliation must condemn.
Governor Fayose said; “They started with Senate President, Bukola
Saraki; later, the DSS invaded the Akwa-Ibom State Government House
and those who should speak out kept silent because of politics.
“The DSS moved against the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col
Sambo Dasuki, invading his residences in a commando liked manner and
when he got order from the court for the DSS to vacate his house, the
order was ignored. Up till today, Dasuki is still in detention despite
that he was granted bail by the court and he met the bail conditions.
“When all these happened to Dasuki, many of those who should talk,
especially our so-called human rights activists kept silent because of
politics.
“Now that it happened to Faleke and Audu, members of President
Buhari’s party who are not on the same page with him on the Kogi State
election, should we also keep silent because it is APC affairs?
Definitely no!
“We are not going to keep silent because we are not in this to protect
the interest of any political interest. Rather, our concern is the
survival of democracy, which is obviously being threatened by the
forces that have turned the DSS to their agent of political
victimisation.
“Most importantly, Nigerians should know that tyranny does not know
political boundary. The moment tyranny becomes full-blown, it does not
even know its own family members. The only concern is its selfish
interests and anyone that is against those interests must be pull down
or whip to line.”
