Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said the President Bola Tinubu administration has become worse than a dictatorship regime.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in a post on his verified Facebook page on Tuesday, alleged that the level of oppressive control imposed by Tinubu’s administration now surpasses even the harshest days of military dictatorship.
He said the president should rather redirect their intimidation towards the perpetrators of violence.
The Tinubu administration in recent times is prosecuting organizers of the #Endbadgovernanc# and his security agencies have been after the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, who was arrested by the Department of State Services on Monday morning at Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport while heading to the UK for official duties.
On the same day, the DSS also raided the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project’s Abuja office.
Ajaero was held in custody throughout the day and was released late Monday night.
Atiku said the arrest of Ajaero was typical of the current administration’s persistent efforts to intimidate and suppress organised labour.
He stated, “The escalating assault on civil society and the media by the Bola Tinubu administration is profoundly disturbing. The level of oppressive control now imposed surpasses even the harshest days of military dictatorship.
“The recent arrest of Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, en route to an official event, epitomises this regime’s relentless campaign to intimidate and subdue organised labour.”
He said the DSS invasion of the SERAP office contradicts the principles of freedom and justice.
The post read in part, “Just days prior, security forces detained a journalist, only to later claim it was a grievous error. What if the outcome had been fatal?
“Now, Tinubu’s regime extends its repressive grasp to encroach upon SERAP, an action that stands as a grave affront to our democratic values. This siege is anathema to the principles of freedom and justice.
“Tinubu and his security apparatus must redirect their fervour and intimidation towards the true perpetrators of violence — terrorists and bandits — who are inflicting immeasurable suffering upon the Nigerian people.”
