Prominent Nigerians on Tuesday rose in condemnation of the attempted arrest of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, by security agents in Abuja.
Some of those who spoke against the action include former Vice President, Abubakar Atiku, Governor of old Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Sebastian Hon.
The trio, who spoke separately to The Next Edition on the matter, said the action of the security agents was against the norms of democratic governance.
Mr. Atiku said the news of the siege on Mr. Saraki and Ekweremadu’s homes is troubling, adding “no democratic nation ought to treat the leadership of its Parliament like common criminals in the course of a political disagreement.”
He said, “I remind the powers that be that on August 31, 2013, when Senator Bukola Saraki walked out of the Peoples Democratic Party and began the process of joining the All Progressives Congress, there was a celebration in their camps.
“I also remind them that their electoral victory, which they have so badly mismanaged today, would not have been possible without the Senate President.
“Power is transient and is also a trust that should only be used for the good and advancement of the people one leads and not for the persecution of real and imagined political opponents.
“I, therefore, call for the lifting of the sieges on the persons and homes of Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu by security forces.
“I remind President Muhammadu Buhari of his public words of solidarity to Senator Saraki after his ordeal of malicious prosecution, which thankfully was brought to a halt by the Supreme Court, and I urge him to live up to those words today and always,” Mr. Atiku said.
On his part, Mr. Musa said the disagreement between the executive and legislative arms of the government started shortly after Messrs Buhari and Saraki were sworn into office.
“It is an unfortunate development between the executive and the legislature. The situation was seeable right from the beginning when President Buhari and the Senate President were sown in.
“The relationship between the Presidency and the National Assembly has been bad right from the beginning. In fact, we have reached a stage when they go after each other.
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“They are fighting to finish. Obviously, the arrest of the Senate President by security operatives comes from the President. The reason is that security operatives cannot do what they are doing without the approval of the president.
“I don’t think the security services are so careless. It means the president is aware of what they are doing.
“The negative state of the country cannot be corrected because of the institutional incompatibility between the Presidency and the National Assembly.”
Mr. Musa said the humiliation of the National Assembly through the arrest of Messrs Saraki and Ekweremadu is enough to push national lawmakers to impeach the president.
He warned that unless some sensible Nigerians come out to bring the situation under control, the country may soon experience terrible repercussion.
“Continuing, he said, “What is happening is not surprising but what we can hope is that some sensible people will come out to bring the situation to normalcy otherwise we will have a terrible repercussion.
“We should stop talking about democracy in Nigeria. There is nothing democratic in what is happening in the country now. We should be talking about governance and civil administration and not about democracy.
“We can talk about democratic aspiration but democratic governance is not an issue in Nigeria.
“If there is a democracy, will this happen? Can this happen in the United States, France, Germany or Britain where there is a democracy?
“Can this mindlessness between the executive and the legislature ever happen? The same Presidency raided the homes of senior judiciary officers and you are talking about democracy,” he concluded.
On his part, Mr. Hon expressed condemnation over the siege on the residences of the two Senate leaders.
He said, “I condemn in the strongest terms the siege on the residences of the Senate president and his deputy.
“Speculation is rife that this action by the security agencies is precipitate and is aimed at either preventing the planned mass defection at the Senate or to illegally effect changes in the National Assembly leadership.
“This is descent to fascism. All lovers of democracy and our dear country must resist this using all lawful means. Remember how the jugular of the judiciary was aimed at, in the guise of fighting corruption.
“Now, after failing to blackmail the National Assembly or failing to destroy it through a smear campaign, its leadership is being targeted, using the same security forces, who are being paid with taxpayers’ money.
“This is totally unacceptable in any democratic setting. I condemn this in no mistaken terms,” he concluded.
