•Arrests violate peace accord – Buhari
•Says accord must be worth its letters
•Says accord must be worth its letters
Leaders and supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in different parts of the country are under siege from security agents over today’s presidential and National Assembly elections, even before the first ballot is cast.
The police yesterday summoned the party’s governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, the party’s senatorial candidate for Kaduna North, Mr.Suleiman Hunkuyi, and Chairman of the party campaign council in the state, Alhaji Lawal Yakawada, for questioning.
The party’s presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday protested the development and warned that the clampdown was in bad faith and constituted a violation of the two Abuja Peace Accords he signed with President Goodluck Jonathan.
Already in security custody are an APC member of the House of Representatives from Ondo State, Hon. Eniolorunda Omosule, the APC agent at the Port Harcourt office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Emma Edeeyah, and four leaders of the party in Akoko Edo 1 of Edo State.
The Kaduna State Police Command, in a letter to the APC, summoned El-Rufai, Hunkuyi and Yakawada to the command for questioning.
The letter was signed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the CID.
Apart from the letter,the police also placed several phone calls to the party’s secretariat, asking the men appear before them.
The Publicity Secretary of the party in Kaduna, Samuel Aruwan, said that the intention of the police was to keep the trio till after the election.
The APC had earlier raised an alarm that it had it on good record that there was a plan to begin a clampdown on its top members.
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State told newsmen in Benin yesterday that more APC members in the state had been pencilled down for arrest with a view to keeping them out of circulation during the elections.
He accused Works Minister Mike Onolemenmen of donating 14 Hilux vans to the 4 Brigade of the army in the state as part of the plot to use the military to intimidate the opposition.
Former Ekiti State governor, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, said “there has been a lot of intimidation, a lot of attacks, a lot of violence perpetuated against the members of the APC and we hope that the security agencies will be up to the task to see that it does not continue tomorrow (today).”
General Buhari deplored the situation yesterday and expressed disappointment that all these happened after he and President Jonathan “signed a new accord reinforcing our commitment to violent-free elections.”
The first peace accord was signed by the duo along with nine other party leaders, on January 14th 2015, to “show our commitment to free, fair and credible elections in our dear country.”
He said: “I take these accords very seriously, and this has reflected in the issues-based campaign which I ran all through the period of the electioneering, despite the provocative and sleazy campaign directed at my person and party.
“But recent developments across the country, ahead of Saturday’s elections, run against the contents and spirit of the peace accords.
“For example, the ink with which we signed the new peace accord had barely dried when we started hearing reports of violence directed against members of our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), as well as glaring acts of harassment and intimidation being carried out against the opposition by security agents across the country.
“Shots were fired at the convoy of the Director-General of my campaign organisation, His Excellency Gov. Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, in Rumuolumeni, Obio Akpor area of Port Harcourt, a few hours after the second peace accord was signed, leaving two persons injured.
“I do hope this is not a confirmation of the information reaching my party that some notorious security agents have been deployed to Port Harcourt to restrict the movement of Gov. Amaechi.
“In Ondo State, a serving APC member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Eniolorunda Omosule, was arrested and detained by the police for no reason other than to keep him away until after elections, while we have heard reports of an alleged meeting in Ibadan between the commissioners of police in the South-west and PDP officials.
“In Imo, we have read of how more than 30 armed mobile policemen were unleashed on some APC youths at Mbutu in the Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area, with the policemen firing indiscriminately, smashing doors and windows and arresting some of the youths, while there are alleged plans to deploy troops clothed in DSS uniforms to the South-west to help the PDP to rig the elections.
“These are worrisome developments, more so because they involve security agencies, which are supposed to be neutral and professional in carrying out their constitutional duties of protecting the lives and property of Nigerians, irrespective of their party affiliations.”
Gen. Buhari urged his supporters to shun all acts of violence, even in the face of the worst kind of provocations and declared that “the wordings of the accords must mean something if indeed they are the paper they are writing on.
“The new peace accord we signed on Thursday called on the INEC and all security agencies to ensure strict adherence to their constitutional roles. This is the minimum requirement for us to have credible elections. When those who are being paid to protect Nigerians turn around to unleash violence on them, it portends great danger for the polity.”
He asked the President to immediately call the errant security agencies to order, in the spirit of the peace accords and to make it “clear that any security agent who engages in acts that are inimical to the success of the elections will face the full wrath of the law.”
The police and the INEC in Rivers State denied knowledge of Deeyah’s arrest.
The President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, last night called for the release of his fellow Ogoni, Deeyah.
The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, who doubles as the Director of Communications of APC’s Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside’s Greater Together Campaign Organisation, however, insisted that Deeyah was arrested yesterday morning by the police.
Semenitari said: “Emmanuel Deeyah, the Rivers State APC representative in the INEC Headquarters in Port Harcourt has been arrested at the Rivers State Office of the INEC, where he was present at the distribution of materials.
“The APC in Rivers State is worried about this (Deeyah’s arrest), as it confirms our fears that the Federal Government does not want elections to hold in Rivers State.
“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had risen from a meeting with instructions that all APC chieftains and as many members as possible should be arrested. Arrests began Thursday night, with massive arrests planned for yesterday, up till 5 a.m. today. The idea is to keep as many APC members as possible away from today’s elections.”
The MOSOP president said Deeyah, a former member of the House of Representatives , is “believed to be detained by the Anti-Cult Unit of the Nigeria Police Force.”
Otunba Adebayo,speaking in an interview in Iyin Ekiti decried the high level of intimidation and harassment against members of the APC.
He said the security agencies should be neutral in the elections.
Governor Oshiomhole, at a press conference in Benin said security agents were out to arrest and harass top leaders of the APC in the state.
The alarm followed alleged attempt by plain clothes soldiers to arrest the State Youth Leader of APC, Osakpamwan Eriyo, on allegation of gun running.
He was only left alone following the resistance put up by some APC youths.
Osakpamwan, who, confirmed the report, said the soldiers invaded his hotel with a view to putting him out of circulation until the elections are over.
A member of the state House of Assembly, representing Akoko-Edo 1 Consitutency, Kabiru Adjoto, said four APC leaders in his constituency had been arrested and their whereabouts unknown.
Governor Oshiomhole said more leaders of the APC had been pencilled down for arrest.
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