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SOWORE: Ex-US ambassador, Campbell says Nigeria’s international image damaged
A former United States US) Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell has said the recent invasion of court by the State Security Service (DSS) had damaged Nigeria’s international image.
He was referring to the December 6 event, when operatives of the DSS stormed a Federal High Court in Abuja to re-arrest Omoyele Sowore, the RevolutionNow convener.
He commented on the development in a post he entitled “Buhari’s dictatorial past and the rule of law today in Nigeria” and published on the website of the Council on Foreign Relations.
He called on Buhari’s government not to make any move against the freedom of expression of the media house that criticise the current administration in editorials over the invasion.
“The newspaper is based in Lagos, and it and its readership has long been critical of northern Nigerian governance. Its criticism of Buhari is not surprising, but it is worth noting that Zakzaky and Dasuki are both northern Muslims.
READ ALSO: I’ll bequeath to Nigeria a modernised, motivated police force, Buhari promises
“What is different this time is the parallelism between military rule and Buhari’s civilian administration. Buhari’s supporters are likely to find the Punch stance infuriating. Nigeria’s foreign friends will be hoping that the government takes no move to limit Punch’s freedom of expression.
“The SSS assault on a court room and the re-arrest of Sowore has already damaged the country’s international reputation,” he said.
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