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Oshiomhole�s
avoidable arrest
The Federal
Government again confirmed the apprehension of Nigerians when it caused
its agents, at the weekend, to arrest Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, President
of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), a body which the masses of Nigerians
look up to, to lead the struggle against draconian policies and programmes
of the President Olusegun Obasanjo�s administration. Coming on the heels
of a failed attempt by stakeholders to find a middle ground to avert
yesterday�s strike, the arrest was ill-conceived and falls short of
democratic norms.
Yet, the arrest of the Labour
leader further raises questions on the capacity of the government to manage crisis. The
resort to the use of force, rather than constitutional means in dealing
with perceived enemies of state, clearly shows how desperate the
government is about silencing the opposition.
According to Salihu Lukman, NLC
acting secretary general, Oshiomhole, who was traveling to Benin, Edo
State, on his way to Delta State to attend the final burial rites of the
mother of Governor James Ibori, was arrested without any warrant and
practically abducted to an unknown destination
Even so, top hierarchy of the
ruling People�s Democratic Party (PDP), including its National Chairman,
Audu Ogbeh and National Secretary, Vincent Ogbuluafor, were said to have
witnessed how the security operatives wrestled the Labour leader to the
ground and bundled him into a standby unmarked Peugeot 504 station wagon
and drove off. Surely, the two leaders of the ruling party were not amused
by the way Oshiomhole was treated, but the import should not be lost on
them: Nigeria is fast receding into a totalitarian
state.
Just last week, the same
overzealous security operatives, who were apparently acting on the
directive of their principals, detained Mr. Femi Aborishade, General
Secretary of the National Conscience Party (NCP). Illegal arrest is fast
becoming a recurring feature in the desperate bid of the administration to
clamp down on those not disposed to its reforms. Boxed into a corner and
trying to save face, the government quickly came out to refute the report
that Oshiomhole was arrested, saying that the NLC leader had
misunderstanding with field operatives at the Airport as a result of which
he was taken to the sub-office of the State Security Service (SSS). But
the federal government does not have to engage its citizens in a Gestapo
manner. If offence has been committed, due process of the law should be
followed.
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