Leaders of Nigerian socio-cultural groups, Afenifere, Northern Elders Forum and Ohanaeze -Ndigbo, on Sunday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to “stop running Nigeria asif he is the head of a military junta.”
The socio-cultural groups, which also included the Pan-Niger Delta Forum and the Middle Belt Forum, said they rejected any attempt to make the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to investigate the crime of the invasion of the National Assembly last Tuesday, noting that they had “perused the wishy-washy interim report submitted to the Acting President” and they did not believe in it. I
The groups, in a statement on Sunday signed by Yinka Odumakin for Afenifere; Junaid Mohammed for the Northern Elders Forum; Chigozie Ogbu for Ohanaeze, Bassey Henshaw for PANDEF and Isuwa Dogo for the Middle Belt Forum, said they considered the dismissal of the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura, as only a token in the circumstance.
The groups said, “High treason was committed, and, therefore, the matter should not end with merely firing a public official.”
They said, “The gang invasion of the legislative arm of the Nigerian government, the arm of government that constitutes the essence of democratic rule, exposed Nigeria to the whole world as a crude entity where political misfits ride roughshod over decency and all the moral pillars have collapsed.
“We consider the dismissal of Daura as only a token in the circumstance. High treason was committed, and, therefore, should not end with merely firing a public official. We also reject any attempt to make the IG investigate the crime. We have perused the wishy-washy interim report submitted to the Acting President and the only thing we saw in it was the puerile deduction that there were political figures who colluded with Daura to carry out the crime.
“We cannot accept any probe by the IG as he himself should long have been fired if this were a government that places any value on the rule of law. In case there are people who have forgotten, let it be remembered that the IG and his men did nothing but watched almost with amusement the day six thugs walked into the Chambers of the Nigerian Senate and made away with the mace.
“We demand a judicial probe given the enormity of this crime. We demand a judicial panel of inquiry to be headed by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court with proven integrity to investigate this coup.
“Lastly, we call on President Buhari to accept the fact that he was elected as the President of Nigeria and stop running Nigeria as if he is the head of a secret junta.”
The groups said they condemned the action of the freezing of the bank accounts of the Benue and Akwa Ibom state governments.
“We condemn the freezing of the accounts of Benue State and Akwa Ibom State by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The growing culture of impunity in Nigeria also saw the EFCC becoming a monster last week when the agency added a new feather to its cap of lawlessness by freezing the accounts of Benue and Akwa Ibom states without any court directing so.
“The EFCC must issue an apology for this misconduct and desist from such vindictive action.”
Punch
