Sowore vs DSS: Nigeria sliding into dictatorship under Buhari – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the furious invasion of the Federal High Court by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) has confirmed that Nigeria, under the President Muhammadu Buhari, is finally sliding into a frightening dictatorship.

PDP insisted that the invasion of the court was a vindication of its earlier stand that the nation was no longer governed by democratic principles of rule of law and dictates of the constitution.

A statement by PDP’s spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan reads: “Today, the world watched with shock as operatives of the Presidency-controlled DSS, in a most horrific manner, swooped on the court, held the judiciary to ransom, disrupted proceedings, scared away
the judge, chased away lawyers and journalists, attacked and re-arrested persons standing trial within the precincts of the court, in a manner that can only be obtainable in Idi Amin’s Uganda.

“The invasion is in a forceful suspension of our constitutional order and a further battering of the judiciary, which points to an emerging lawlessness that can only find space in a military regime.

“Without prejudice to the charge against the Convener of the “Revolution Now” movement, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, the PDP holds that, in a normal democracy, it is the duty of the court to determine the fate of an accused, according to the laws and not a resort to brute force by the government to silence persons with dissenting voices.

“Our party notes that such a violation, as embarrassingly witnessed in the Abuja court this weekend, is a direct invitation to anarchy and a huge threat to the unity, peace, stability and corporate existence of our nation and the safety of our citizens.

“Indeed, this is not the Nigeria our citizens yearn for and it is imperative to restate that Nigeria, under the Buhari Presidency, is fast sliding into a dark country where, laws are suspended, the judiciary is assaulted and citizens are stripped of their fundamental rights.”

PDP urged well meaning Nigerians and the “international community to call the Buhari Presidency to order before its actions derail our nation and trigger a breakdown of law and order in the land.”

“The international community must have more than a passing glance at the situation in Nigeria as any crisis in our country, God forbid, given our population, is capable of having a negative spill over effect across the
African continent and other parts of the world.

“We urge Nigerians across board, irrespective of political, religious and ethnic affiliation, to unite in condemnation of dictatorial tendencies of the present administration and in defending our democracy and unity as a nation,” the statement added.