Metuh’s Arrest: PDP Tells Buhari It May Be The Last Straw That Will Break Nigeria’s Democracy

The National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party,
Olisa Metuh was yesterday arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission at his residence located at Drive One, Prince and Princess Estate,
in the Games Village area of Abuja.

According to reports, Metuh was taken in for questioning
over part of the arms funds that was traced to a firm associated with him. PDP
has however demanded for his immediate release saying  their National Publicity Secretary has been
denied access to his lawyers and has been left incommunicado,

They also accused
the FG of planning to poison Metuh and warned that this might be the last straw
that might break Nigeria’s democracy. Below is a statement released yesterday
evening by the party’s national secretary.

“The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) demands an immediate release of the party’s national publicity secretary,
Chief Olisa Metuh, who was Tuesday morning invited and detained by the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“This development, which did not come to us as a surprise
given series of threats to our party’s spokesman by the APC and the Federal
Government, who are obviously not comfortable with our stance on the confused
state of the nation under their watch, is a continuation of APC’s grand design
to silence and decimate the PDP.

“The arrest of Chief Metuh today underscores the growing
political intolerance in our country and the foisting of a police state which
was last Wednesday underscored by the President and Commander-in-Chief himself,
who defended why a government in a democracy should flout constitutional
provision and brazenly disobey court orders.

“This onslaught against our spokesman, according to
intelligence available to us is part of a larger script by the government to
ensure that PDP wings are finally clipped in their mission to install a
dictatorial one-party state in the country.

“The excesses of security agencies under this government,
especially the Directorate of Security Services (DSS) and the EFCC, in
abridging the human rights of PDP members have become worrisome and a threat to
our democratic evolution.

“Nigerians and the international community will recall that
on a number of occasions, the PDP, through its spokesman has been outspoken on
some undemocratic proclivities being exhibited by the APC-led Federal
Government in the last seven months.

“The PDP insists that for whatever reason Chief Metuh was
arrested, his rights as a citizen under the law must not be trampled upon. We
therefore demand for his immediate release and that due process of
investigation and prosecution concerning him should be strictly adhered to.

“We state this because we have been made aware of top
directives to break Chief Metuh and if possible poison him during his detention
by the EFCC.  Chief Metuh, has since his
arrest at about 10 am, has been kept incommunicado, with his lawyers denied
access to him.

“The PDP declares the arrest of our spokesman as the last
straw that may break our democracy. We therefore forewarn the Federal
Government and its agencies to save our democracy and forthwith release our
National Publicity Secretary.

“We are also calling on the international community and
well-meaning Nigerians to stand up for this democracy, which our party nurtured
for 16 years and deepened to a level where the opposition, for the first time
in our political history, had the opportunity to win in a general election,” it
said.