Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has condemned what he called a climate of political repression across the country by the Federal and State Governments and other powerful individuals who, he said, use security agencies to arbitrarily detain their critics without formal arraignments before the courts. According to Atiku, it was wrong to detain critics without trial in violation of their fundamental human rights which are duly protected by the constitution of Nigeria. The former Vice President lamented that the current level of political intolerance and abuse of power against critics was unhealthy for the nation’s democracy and our international image. “Power is public trust and leaders should not, therefore, use their own positions to repress and oppress those who disagree with them or their policies,” he said. He warned that situations whereby the executive branch of government becomes the interpreter of the law, in which the president or governor’s pronouncements on issues of human rights got weightier than decisions of the law of court, portends great danger to our democracy.

Source: Nigerian Tribune December 24, 2019 18:22 UTC