A coalition, Lawyers for New Nigeria has urged the police to immediately end the siege of the National Headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party and re-open the complex.
The coalition, which comprises the Arewa Lawyers Union (ALU) and the Good Governance Initiative Coalition (GGIC), said the continued barricade of the main opposition party’s office by the police allegedly on the orders of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, was not only illegal but an attempt to stifle opposition and create a one-party state.
Police and other security operatives had locked up the PDP secretariat after the two factions of the party led by the newly elected National Chairman, Tanimu Turaki, SAN and supported by the Governors and other party leaders clashed with the Abdulrahman Muhammed group, backed by the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
National Coordinator of the coalition, Barrister Hassan Saraki, while addressing newsmenn
in Abuja on Monday, alongside other members said they had given the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, 24 hours to withdraw policemen stationed at the secretariat and reopen the office for members or risk legal action.
The lawyers said the continued seige on the PDP headquarters was a threat to constitutional governance, democratic stability, and the survival of multiparty politics in Nigeria.
Citing Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (As amended) and Sections 221-229, which provides constitutional protection for political parties, the lawyers portrayed the scenario as unprecedented, unconstitutional, dangerous and an assault on Nigeria’s democracy.
They, therefore, called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to not only uphold his constitutional oath but ensure neutrality by providing an enabling and free and fair environment for opposition to thrive.
Saraki further said, “Nigeria is now on the global stage over insecurity, allegations of genocide, and now the attempted destruction of our multiparty democracy, one of the oldest in Africa. At the centre of this crisis is the brazen, violent, and unconstitutional invasion of the PDP national Secretariat at Wadata Plaza, Abuja.
“We, therefore, condemn the illegal deployment of police officers to enforce a partisan takeover, deliberate weakening of the opposition, political intimidation, shrinking democratic space and the use of state institutions to attack opposition as it violates the doctrine of political plurality.”
The coalition charged the international bodies to monitor developments in Nigeria and intervene diplomatically to prevent the collapse of democracy in Nigeria.
The lawyers stressed that if the prevailing situation is allowed to continue, the opposition will collapse “and without opposition, dictatorship emerges. We hereby demand, the Immediate withdrawal of police officers from the PDP Secretariat and Reopening for full restoration of the Secretariat.
“A proper investigation into Nyesom Wike’s role. A parliamentary inquiry into the misuse of security agencies and a public Presidential commitment to multiparty democracy.”
