The national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus has raised the alarm, alleging plots by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest some key leaders of the opposition party on trump up charges.
Secondus listed the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar; his running mate, Peter Obi; President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki; and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and other leaders of the party as some of those marked for arrest.
In a statement issued on Monday by Secondus media aide, Ike Abonyi, the party chairman warned that the country would explode any moment if the EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu continued with such impunity.
Alleging plots to prefer frame up charges against the PDP chieftains, the main opposition party chairman further warned that the country is presently sitting on a gunpowder.
Prince Secondus further cautioned the EFCC chairman, saying that he won’t get away with the hatchet job he has taken upon himself by using instruments of state to harass and intimidate opposition figures.
Regretting that Magu has made himself a willing tool for oppression, Secondus said available intelligence indicated that the EFCC chairman was working in cahoots with some prominent chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“They are presiding over clandestine meetings and developing strategies for the APC, which is aimed at caging and crushing critical leaders of the opposition”, Secondus said.
The party chairman said aside arrest and detention of the targeted opposition leaders, their family members and business associates have also been lined up for intimidation and harassment, including freezing their business interests and their bank accounts.
He described as an afterthought fabrication, the EFCC’s statement that the two sons of Atiku, whose residence was raided by operatives on the Commission on Saturday, were not the target of the raid.
Prince Secondus recalled the security search on Atiku on November 11, when he arrived in the country from Dubai, saying the country has gone into full blown dictatorship.
“After that embarrassment and harassment which was aimed at intimidating the candidate and nothing incriminating was found on him, no apology was extended to him as a former number two citizen.
“They followed it up with the freezing of the bank accounts of our vice presidential candidate as well as that of his friends and family members as part of a large scheme to keep the party distracted from its focus of regaining power in 2019”, the statement added.
The PDP chairman said the script being played by the ruling party was meant to bring key opposition leaders to their knees, with a view to grounding them, framing them up and putting them behind bars before the 2019 elections.
He called on all lovers of democracy and rule of law, especially the international community to rein in President Muhammadu Buhari, Magu and the APC to observe the tenets of democracy that respect the sanctity of the opposition and human rights.
