Olisa Metuh, National Publicity Secretary PDP
Press Statement
January 5, 2016
‘Don’t Kill Metuh’ – PDP Cries Out
The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) demands an
immediate release of the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief
Olisa Metuh, who was Tuesday morning invited and detained by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
This development, which did not come to us as a surprise given series of
threats to our party’s spokesman by the APC and the Federal Government,
who are obviously not comfortable with our stance on the confused state
of the nation under their watch, is a continuation of APC’s grand design
to silence and decimate the PDP.
The arrest of Chief Metuh today underscores the growing political
intolerance in our country and the foisting of a police state which was
last Wednesday underscored by the President and Commander-in-Chief
himself, who defended why a government in a democracy should flout
constitutional provision and brazenly disobey court orders.
This onslaught against our spokesman, according to intelligence
available to us is part of a larger script by the government to ensure
that PDP wings are finally clipped in their mission to install a
dictatorial one-party state in the country.
The excesses of security agencies under this government, especially the
Directorate of Security Services (DSS) and the EFCC, in abridging the
human rights of PDP members have become worrisome and a threat to our
democratic evolution.
Nigerians and the international community will recall that on a number
of occasions, the PDP, through its spokesman has been outspoken on some
undemocratic proclivities being exhibited by the APC-led Federal
Government in the last seven months.
The PDP insists that for whatever reason Chief Metuh was arrested, his
rights as a citizen under the law must not be trampled upon. We
therefore demand for his immediate release and that due process of
investigation and prosecution concerning him should be strictly adhered
to.
We state this because we have been made aware of top directives to break
Chief Metuh and if possible poison him during his detention by the EFCC.
Chief Metuh, has since his arrest at about 10 am, has been kept
incommunicado, with his lawyers denied access to him.
The PDP declares the arrest of our spokesman as the last straw that may
break our democracy. We therefore forewarn the Federal Government and
its agencies to save our democracy and forthwith release our National
Publicity Secretary.
We are also calling on the international community and well-meaning
Nigerians to stand up for this democracy, which our party nurtured for
16 years and deepened to a level where the opposition, for the first
time in our political history, had the opportunity to win in a general
election.
Signed:
Prof. Adewale Oladipo
National Secretary
The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) demands an
immediate release of the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief
Olisa Metuh, who was Tuesday morning invited and detained by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
This development, which did not come to us as a surprise given series of
threats to our party’s spokesman by the APC and the Federal Government,
who are obviously not comfortable with our stance on the confused state
of the nation under their watch, is a continuation of APC’s grand design
to silence and decimate the PDP.
The arrest of Chief Metuh today underscores the growing political
intolerance in our country and the foisting of a police state which was
last Wednesday underscored by the President and Commander-in-Chief
himself, who defended why a government in a democracy should flout
constitutional provision and brazenly disobey court orders.
This onslaught against our spokesman, according to intelligence
available to us is part of a larger script by the government to ensure
that PDP wings are finally clipped in their mission to install a
dictatorial one-party state in the country.
The excesses of security agencies under this government, especially the
Directorate of Security Services (DSS) and the EFCC, in abridging the
human rights of PDP members have become worrisome and a threat to our
democratic evolution.
Nigerians and the international community will recall that on a number
of occasions, the PDP, through its spokesman has been outspoken on some
undemocratic proclivities being exhibited by the APC-led Federal
Government in the last seven months.
The PDP insists that for whatever reason Chief Metuh was arrested, his
rights as a citizen under the law must not be trampled upon. We
therefore demand for his immediate release and that due process of
investigation and prosecution concerning him should be strictly adhered
to.
We state this because we have been made aware of top directives to break
Chief Metuh and if possible poison him during his detention by the EFCC.
Chief Metuh, has since his arrest at about 10 am, has been kept
incommunicado, with his lawyers denied access to him.
The PDP declares the arrest of our spokesman as the last straw that may
break our democracy. We therefore forewarn the Federal Government and
its agencies to save our democracy and forthwith release our National
Publicity Secretary.
We are also calling on the international community and well-meaning
Nigerians to stand up for this democracy, which our party nurtured for
16 years and deepened to a level where the opposition, for the first
time in our political history, had the opportunity to win in a general
election.
Signed:
Prof. Adewale Oladipo
National Secretary
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