The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has decried the
indiscriminate arrest and continued detention of former Governors of
Benue and Niger States, Gabriel Suswam and Dr. Babangida Aliyu, as well
the National Coordinator of the Peoples Democratic Party National Youth
Frontier, Comrade Austin Usman Okai.
Fayose described their
continued detention as further demonstration of the All Progressives
Congress government regime of vindictiveness and disrespect for the laws
of Nigeria.
The governor said there was no law permitting
security agents to detain Nigerians indefinitely, adding: “It is even
more worrisome that former Governor Suswam has been in detention since
February 26 this year and Austin Okai, who was arrested in Abuja last
Sunday, was arraigned in Lokoja Magistrate Court yesterday (Thursday),
granted bail and rearrested at the court premises by the same police
that charged him to court.”
In a statement issued in Ado Ekiti on
Friday, signed by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Public
Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, he lamented that “those
holding power in Abuja have become defiant to reasons, operating as if
they are laws unto themselves”.
The governor noted: “Arresting
people without proper and thorough investigation is the reason EFCC
continues lose its cases. How can you arrest someone, put him in
detention and start looking for evidence to prosecute him?
“On
Wednesday, the Department of State Services (DSS) came up with the most
ridiculous reason for keeping Suswam in detention since February. The
service said it would not release the former governor because he has
failed to cooperate with investigators. The question is: what
cooperation does the DSS need from someone that will require him being
kept in detention for close to two months without charging him to court?
“One
may also ask: is the DSS also keeping the head of Nigeria’s Islamic
Movement, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, who has been in detention since late 2015
despite that the court ruled that he should be released in custody
because he refused to cooperate with investigators?
“Are we back
to the era of Decree 2 of 1984 when the National Security Organisation
had powers to arrest and detain Nigerians indefinitely?
“Also, for
what lawful reason would the Police charge Austin Okai to court and
rearrest him at the court premises after he was granted bail? Isn’t the
brutish use of power by these APC elements getting too much?”
On
the continued detention Aliyu, Governor Fayose said: “Investigating
allegations of corruption does not empower the EFCC or any security
agency to detain any Nigeria indefinitely without trial.
Most
importantly, it is assumed that before anyone can be arrested for
alleged corruption, the EFCC ought to have done its job by gathering
necessary facts. This practice of EFCC arresting Nigerians, detaining
them indefinitely so that they can give indicting evidences against
themselves is alien to crime investigation in civilised world.
“Therefore,
if EFCC has any evidence of corruption against Dr Babangida Aliyu, the
commission should simply charge him to court and use the evidence(s) to
prosecute him. In the absence of this, he should be released forthwith;
else one will also believe the insinuation that the EFCC is holding him
(Babangida) as part of the APC-led Federal Government clampdown on
anyone that is perceived as having presidential ambition in 2019.”
No comments:
Post a Comment