by Azeez Adeniyi

The Ahmed Makarfi faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) is running Nigeria like a gestapo state.

In a statement by its spokesperson, Dayo Adeyeye on Thursday, the faction said the country was moving towards anarchy under the APC.

The statement said public officers were being detained without trial.

“For instance, the former Governor of Benue State, Mr. Gabriel Suswam was arrested by men of the Directorate of State Services (DSS) and has been in detention for over two months now without trial.

“Also, the former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu was arrested on April 5, 2017 by officers of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and like the others, he has been in detention and yet no case has been filed against him in any court by the anti-graft agency.

“Former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki has been in custody for about two years now without trial. Similar brutality, arrest and mindless detention went on with other PDP leaders and members that were arrested by either the DSS or the EFCC”, the statement said.

The faction also said opposition members go through media trials before they are proven innocent or otherwise by the courts.

The statement continued, “It is also very clear in the Constitution of Nigeria that no security agency has the right or power to detain suspects more than 48 hours without trial.

“Ironically, while former leaders and members of the PDP are being arrested indiscriminately and detained without trial, other former office holders of the ruling APC who have been accused of various corrupt practices are yet to be arrested. Instead, they are compensated with juicy ministerial appointments -double standards.

“We are in a constitutional democracy and as such, the present APC administration must lead by example and obey court orders. It is on record that most of these suspects have been granted bail by the courts of the land and the ECOWAS Court in the case of Col. Sambo Dasuki .This is sheer lawlessness!

“We wish to further assure the public that the PDP is not against the anti-corruption fight. Our stand is that the present APC government must follow due process in dealing with issues of corruption as the PDP did during its governments without violating human rights of citizens, especially those suspects that may later be found innocent by the law court”.

Azeez