The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections, and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned what he called outright persecution of former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, for standing against President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
In a statement he personally signed and released to journalists yesterday, Atiku noted that the issues for which Saraki is currently being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had been conclusively investigated and looked into even by the courts.
According to him, “the revival of previously investigated cases, and the fact that Saraki was politically opposed to the administration of President Buhari seems to give strong grounds for objective bystanders to conclude that his current travails have gone beyond prosecution and are now tending towards persecution.”
In the statement tagged: “Bukola Saraki: Silence In The Face of Tyranny Is Acquiescence,” Atiku drew attention to the fact that he stands “against corruption in government, which was why my office personally facilitated the take-off of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, after it was created by then President Olusegun Obasanjo.”
He said: “However, there is a huge difference between prosecution and persecution. I am all for prosecuting the corrupt, but I believe it is wrong to use the instruments of state to persecute political opponents.
“Dr. Bukola Abubakar Saraki, the immediate past Senate President, is one of the most investigated politicians in Nigeria. He has been investigated and prosecuted all the way to the Supreme Court and has prevailed against his accusers. It was expected that that should have been the end of the matter.”
He noted that “the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are made for all and we fought for democracy so that the powers of the state would not be used to suborn tyranny and oppression”
Atiku, therefore, urged Saraki to stand firm and take solace in the fact that Nigerians still hold the constitution higher than any other authority.
“I urge all Nigerians, and especially those tasked with upholding the constitution and the laws of the land, to note that silence in the face of oppression is akin to acquiescence. I, Atiku Abubakar, will always stand up for the constitution and Nigeria,” he further stated.
