Bukola Saraki, Senate President, has called for the unconditional release of Deji Adeyanju, detained political activist.
Mr
Adeyanju travail started when he led a protest demanding service chiefs
to be apolitical as the next goes to elect its leaders in next year’s
general election.
Some service chiefs had graced a political
event in honour of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is seeking a second
term in office. It was on this basis that triggered the protest.
Adeyanju
was arrested alongside his colleagues, they were immediately arraigned
on sundry charges, granted bail and he was released after spending eight
days behind bars.
On release, he returned to the Police which
previously arrested him to retrieve one of his 3 phones and was arrested
again to stand trial for an old case, for which he had been discharged
and acquitted by a court in Kano years ago.
Adeyanju was then remanded in prison till February 6, 2019 when the matter could be heard at a higher court.
The top lawmaker said Adeyanju’s travail was more political than judicial and urged the Mr Buhari to order his release.
Saraki
urged the president to set the activist free as keeping him behind bars
portrayed the present administration in bad light as a government that
is intolerant of criticism and suppressing views of the opposition,
indicating that dictatorial tendencies are becoming rife in a democratic
country.
In a statement by his Special Adviser (Media and
Publicity), Yusuph Olaniyonu, the Senate President said the action of
the police indicated a deliberate attempt to get Adeyanju out of
circulation.
“The way the matter has been handled and the last
decision of the Magistrate Court to remand the young man in prison till
after the conclusion of the 2019 Polls has presented our democracy in
bad light. We are now looking like a country that has receded to the
period of military rule,” Saraki said.
“The President needs to
intervene to find out whether the current travail of Deji Adeyanju has
anything to do with his frequently expressed viewpoints against the
Federal Government and why his arrest after leading a protest has now
ignited all the various charges being filed against him and if it was
true that the charges for which he has been remanded in prison till
February had actually being adjudicated upon by the High Court.
“It
should be noted that prior to the coming to office of this government,
those of us in opposition, the APC, freely criticized the Goodluck
Jonathan government and flayed their actions and statements without any
attempt by the administration to stifle opposing views. This
administration which benefitted from such open market place of ideas,
which is a key tenet of a democratic regime, cannot offer anything less
to our people.
“At this point, President Buhari should not allow
the excesses and over-zealousness of some security agents to give his
government a bad name and that is why I think he should interfere and
let the world know the truth about this case. It is obvious that this
case is purely political and not about any judicial action. I also call
on all human rights protection groups to wade into this matter and
ensure we do not watch helplessly as the rights of a citizen is being
trampled upon”, Saraki added.
Source:- Politicstimesng
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