The whole world was shocked to see pro-Buhari ‘hoodlums’ attack Deji, others —PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday night condemned the hoodlums’ attack on Nigerians protesting the widespread human rights abuse in the country.

The party said in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, that such attack on Nigerians holding a protest within their constitutionally guaranteed rights points to nothing but “the furtherance of the suppressive plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its leaders in government to subjugate Nigerians, foist a siege mentality on the citizenry and force them to surrender to a repressive rule.”

The statement read: “The world watched with shock as hoodlums chanting the ‘sai baba’ slogan, known with supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC, violently descended on citizens peacefully protesting at the Nigerian Human Right Commission (NHRC) complex in Abuja, with dangerous weapons and abducted protesters in the full glare of security operatives.

“The PDP invites Nigerians to note how hoodlums were recruited to mask an orchestrated tyrannical design to subdue constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech and opinion in our country.

“By their chants, the public is not in doubt as to whose interest the hoodlums were deployed to serve by attacking Nigerians who were protesting the violation of rights in our country.

The burden now lies at the doorstep of the APC and the Buhari administration. Our party challenges them to come out clean on this matter.

“The PDP reminds the APC and its administration to note that Nigeria is a democratic state governed by law and that such reprehensible designs against the citizens can only be a recipe for civil unrest and anarchy.

“The party, therefore, calls on security agencies to save the nation from a civil unrest by immediately arresting and prosecuting the culprits as well as provide adequate security for Nigerians exercising their civic rights, including the right to peaceful protest.”

Some protesters including were attacked by suspected hoodlums during a rally put together by civil society organizations to demand immediate and unconditional release of the convener of the #RevolutionNow protest, Omoyele Sowore, and other political prisoners detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now