A political activist and former Deputy National
Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has said
the death recorded at last Monday's violent clash between the police and the
protesting Shi'ite members are avoidable, calling on the International Criminal
Court (ICC) to hold President Muhammadu Buhari responsible.
Reacting to the clash which led to the death of
many Shi'ite members; a Deputy Commissioner of Police and a staff of Channels
Television, in a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday in Abuja,
Frank demanded the unconstitutional release of the Shiite Muslim leader,
Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, to prevent the crisis from degenerating into more dangerous
dimensions.
While commiserating with the families of a deputy commissioner
of police, Channels Television staff and others who died during the violent clash,
Frank accused Buhari administration of abuse of court process, saying the president
has taken dictatorship to the ‘Next Level’.
The Bayelsa State-born political activist said
security strategy in a crisis situation must be targeted to calm the situation
and not shooting at protesters.
He reminded Buhari that when he personally led a
protest against the police in 2014, no single shot was fired at his group.
According to him, no past government has supervised
the killing of its citizens directly or indirectly like the current
administration.
He warned against creating another terrorist group
by deliberately disobeying court orders and refusing to release the leader of
the Shiite by the APC government.
Frank, who said it was the right of the Muslim
group to demand the release of their leader from illegal and unjustified
detention, added that "whether we like it or not, Shiites members are
Nigerians, therefore, Nigerians must condemn the clamp down on the group.
"The Buhari government has refused to obey all
the court orders granting the Shiite leader bail before now. Why is Buhari
government finding it difficult to obey the numerous court orders? It is also
on record that the leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and
their Muslim counterparts had visited Buhari on this illegal detention as well
as that of Sambo Dasuki, but the APC government has consistently paid deaf ears
to all their concerns.
"The demand for his release has now gone
international. In London recently, a group of protesters were seen calling for
the release of El-Zakzaky and the United Kingdom Government did not send police
to shoot the protesters even when the Shiite leader is from another country.
"Nigerians must speak up now and channel the
blame to the right direction, which is Buhari, and not the protesting Shiites
members who were demanding the release of their leader.
"If Buhari's government could negotiate with
Boko Haram, bandits and other dreaded groups, why is it difficult for him to
find solution to the Shiite’s agitation?"
Frank called on all Nigerians, including religious
leaders and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to boldly speak out now and
prevail on the president to release the detained El-Zakzaky and Dasuki.
He warned the government which he accused of
attempting to kill El-Zakzaky to release him unconditionally, as he appealed to
the international community to mount pressure on him for the release of the
Shiite leader.
The former APC spokesman called on the International
Criminal Court (ICC) to indict the Inspector General (IG), the Chief of Army
Staff and President Buhari for consistently killings the protesting group.
No comments:
Post a Comment