17th November, 2014
PRESS RELEASE:
IMPEACHMENT OF EKITI SPEAKER: IMPUNITY
& MISUSE OF POLICE THREATEN DEMOCRACY
The speaker of Ekiti State House of
Assembly was allegedly impeached today by only seven People’s Democratic Party
(PDP) members of the House out of 26. The seven minority members were allegedly
led into the hallowed House by about 200 policemen who reportedly disallowed
the remaining 19 members who belonged to the All Progressives Congress (APC)
from entering the House to participate in the deliberations of the day.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) strongly condemns this
disgraceful act of impunity. It is a blatant rape on democracy, an open misuse
of the police and an undisguised invitation to chaos. It is also an
unbridled breach of due process. It contravenes the principle of justice and
equity, violates natural justice and tramples upon the rule of law. It is
therefore unacceptable.
We recall a similar scenario during the attempted
impeachment of the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly by only 5 PDP
members. The recognition given by President Jonathan to Governor Jang of
Plateau State as the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum despite the fact
that Jang scored 16 votes while his rival, Governor Amaechi of Rivers State,
scored 19, also comes to mind.
These undemocratic, autocratic and Bohemian decisions have
marked out President Jonathan and the ruling party as unrepentant champions of
injustice and brandishers of conscienceless power who are ever ready to subjugate
powerless conscience.
MURIC is shocked by the overzealousness
of the seven minority members to set aside universally recognized rules on
quorum. It is a shameful disregard for decorum and a total disrespect of decent
political culture. It exposes politicians in the ruling party as charlatans and
Machiavellians.
Posterity will hold President Jonathan, his ruling party
and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) responsible if Nigeria’s nascent
democracy fails. The misuse of policemen by the ruling party and the
unprofessional conduct of the IGP further cement the argument for the
establishment of state police. It has become crystal clear that those in power
today have the noun ‘oppression’ and the verb ‘to oppress’.
MURIC does not need a crystal ball to predict that the 2015
general elections cannot be free and fair as long as it is
conducted by the same President Jonathan who gave credit to 16 over 19 and 7
over 19.
It is paradoxical that our president has
just returned from Burkina Fasso where he played Big Brother Africa after a
military coup in that West African country. We are constrained to ask, “Where is
leadership by example?” Does charity begin at home in Nigeria at all? What
lessons are we imparting to the Nigerian youth and students who engage in
unionism?
MURIC invites the international community
to note these ugly developments on the Nigerian political scene. We charge the
lawmakers who were shut out of the Ekiti State House of Assembly to use every
constitutional means available to resist the tyrants in our midst.
We call on Nigerians generally to ignore
affiliations on the basis of political parties but to defend democracy on the
basis of principle, truth and morality.
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
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