BREAKING: ‘Abducted in Kano, whisked away to Abuja‘, Atiku reacts to EFCC’s arrest of ex-lawmaker
The former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the arrest of an ex-lawmaker of the House of Representatives, Muhammad Kazaure, by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a post shared on his social media pages, Atiku accused the anti-graft agency of “a well-worn pattern of lawlessness, arresting and detaining citizens with brazen disregard for due process”.
The former vice president also cited the case of Martins Otse popularly known as VeryDarkMan who was recently released after spending days in the custody of the EFCC.
Stating the Otse was only released by the commission after an outrage from the public, Atiku described Kazure’s arrest as gross misgovernance and failings of the Tinubu administration.
He said, “Abducted in Kano and whisked away to Abuja, Kazaure is presently being held incommunicado, with no formal charge or explanation offered to his family, legal team, or the Nigerian people.
“Let it be stated without equivocation: even if there were legitimate grounds for arresting any citizen, such action must adhere strictly to the rule of law. The EFCC is duty-bound to publicly disclose the reasons for any arrest and must not detain individuals indefinitely under the guise of investigation,” Atiku said.
He warned that the constitution, which stipulates that every detainee must be promptly charged in court or released, must be strictly adhered to.
Atiku also warned that the anti-graft agency is entrenching itself deeper into the mire of impunity and constitutional delinquency.
He stated the silence regarding the arrest of Kazure lays bare the agency’s contempt for transparency and justice.
“We are left with no choice but to conclude that Kazaure’s ordeal is a direct consequence of his fearless and unrelenting criticism of this administration. This government’s hypocrisy is as staggering as it is shameless: while it strikes cosy deals with politically connected figures tainted by corruption, it unleashes the machinery of the state to harass and silence its critics.
“The Nigerian people are watching. And history will not forget,” he concluded.