Ekweremadu, Writes UN, EU, US over Threat to Democracy in Nigeria

Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu

Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has written the United Nations,
European Union and the United States alerting them of the threat posed to
democratic rule in Nigeria by the undemocratic practices of the President
Buhari-led government.
In a two-page letter entitled: Re: Trumped Up Charges Against the
Presiding Officers of the 8th Senate: Nigerian Democracy in Grave Danger”,
raised alarm over attempt by the government to silence him and the
opposition in Nigeria.
The letter…
The letter In the two-page letter, entitled: “Re: Trumped Up Charges
Against the Presiding Officers of the 8th Senate: Nigerian Democracy is in
Grave Danger,” Ekweremadu, who attached copies of the court summons, and
other relevant documents relating to the matter, is asking the
international community to decide whether or not the trial was worth it,
justifiable or one that was purely borne out of political vendetta.
Ekweremadu stated that neither his name nor that of the President of the
Senate featured either in the petition by aggrieved members of the Senate
Unity Forum, SUF, or during the investigation of the petition by the
police.
“You may further wish to judge for yourself whether this unfolding
scenario, coupled with the clampdown on the opposition, such as targeted
arrests and indefinite detention of opposition figures and dissenting
voices, in spite of court pronouncements and in clear violation of the
Nigerian constitution, as well as the sustained marginalization of the
South-East and South-South geopolitical zones of Nigeria, does not
constitute a grave danger to the nation’s hard-won democracy.
“I wish to forward to you the court summons containing the trumped-up
charges preferred against my person, the President of the Senate, Senator
Bukola Saraki, CON; and two others. “I also wish to appeal to you to
kindly find time to read through the annexures— petition by members of the
Senate Unity Forum, statements by persons interrogated, and the police
report— to see if our names appeared anywhere in these documents.
“You may, thereafter, judge for yourself whether the Federal Government,
acting through the Attorney-General of the Federation, has any
justification whatsoever to generate our names for trial. The list of the
accused persons appears to have been politically generated because you
cannot by the documents attached, relate any of our names to the offence
for which we are now being charged.
“Moreover, the rules and principles of fair-hearing have not been adhered
to because the police have not interacted with me or the President of the
Senate as at the time of writing this letter. “You may also wish to judge
for yourself whether this trial orchestrated against me is not a political
trial, calculated witch-hunt, barefaced intimidation, and a clear attempt
to emasculate the parliament and silence me as the leader and highest
ranking member of the opposition in Nigeria.
“Meanwhile, it could also be recalled that an attempt was made on my life
on November 17, 2015. The Nigerian security agencies did nothing, even
though the incident was duly reported,’’ he lamented.
The Presidency has said it would not exchange words with Ekweremadu.