Dennis Udoma
The ongoing crackdown on the nation’s judiciary over the weekend by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government has continued to draw reactions from groups and individuals.
The latest is the Akwa Ibom State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which, on Monday called on Nigerians to resist attempts by the Federal Government to scuttle the nascent democracy.
Speaking to newsmen in Uyo, PDP spokesman, Comrade Ini Ememobong who described the arrest of Judges on Saturday by Nigeria’s secret police (DSS) as “burglary and kidnapping,” said the party had fought hard to entrench and sustain democracy in the country.
He said, if Nigerians did not wake up to defend democracy and the judiciary, it would be left undefended while democracy would be threatened to its roots.
According to him, “For us as PDP in Akwa Ibom, as a people, we must rise to defend this democracy. This democracy was hard won; we would strive to defend it. Therefore, I urge everybody to ensure that the judiciary as an arm of government is not left undefended’’ adding that, it was most shameful that a professor of law is the Vice President at the time the kidnap of judiciary officers is happening.
He condemned the treatment meted on the Judges by the DSS, noting that, even in Gen. Sanni Abacha’s regime, this did not happen.
The PDP Publicity Secretary however queried that, if there was a reasonable suspicion against the Judges that, the law had empowered the National Judicial Council (NJC) with the responsibility to discipline Judges, citing a precedence where the Chief Judge of Enugu State was disciplined just recently by the body, without the intervention of anybody or group.
While sensing a sinister plan by the APC federal government, the PDP spokesperson also maintained that, the action of the DSS might not be unconnected with the APC agenda to intimidate the Tribunal in Edo State not to give sound judgment when the election petition tribunal begins proceeding.
“Every security agency is established by law. The law sets out the level to which they can act and the law establishing the DSS says, they shall be concerned with the detection and prevention of crimes that relate to internal security, not fraud, not bribery and corruption, which they are envisaging,” Ememobong stated.
