CNPP: Buhari using DSS to return Nigeria to military rule

The arrest of Senate President Bukola Saraki’s aide, Mr. Ikenga Ugochinyere, by the Department of State Security Service (DSS) has drawn the ire of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP).

The group lamented that the DSS under the present administration is intimidating Nigerians in a manner reminiscent of the 80s when Buhari was a military ruler.

The group called for the unconditional release without delay of Ugochinyere, condemning in its entirety the way and manner he was arrested by the DSS.

In a statement signed by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, CNPP wondered why the DSS under President Muhammadu Buhari has decided to make its Gestapo style operation a routine modus operandi since the arrest of judicial officers, even when it is uncalled for.

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Part of the statement read, “The DSS should be reminded that Nigeria is still under a civil rule and in a democracy, and not a military junta, where citizens are intimidated and harassed at will by agents of government.

“From available information, at no time did the young, and enterprising youth activist, decline any invitation by the service to warrant his arrest at the wee hours of the night.

“This was the style of President Muhammadu Buhari government in the 80s as a military Head of State. We therefore wonder if this is an extension of that military regime where citizens are whisked away at will.

“While we call on the international community and lovers of democracy to take note of the anti-democratic tendencies of this administration, we demand for the immediate and unconditional release of Ikenga, who is being arrested for the second time this year.

“He was arrested in May this year and detained by DSS for one month and later released without any charge till date. This act is condemnable, an act of intimidation and we condemn it in its entirety.”

Ugochinyere an aide to Saraki and the President of National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), was said to have been arrested and his office broken into by sledge hammer-wielding DSS operatives, who stormed his private office at about 2a.m. in the Garki area of Abuja.

The CNPP, once respected for its vociferous opposition to anti-democratic forces, now has its former National Publicity Secretary, Ostia Okechukwu, serving as Director-General, Voice of Nigeria(VON).

 

 

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