By: Sunday Oyewole
In far away China, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, on Monday asked the Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Abubakar to shun partisan politics and concentrate on keeping the country safe.
In a statement he personally signged three days after the Nigerian Police invaded the headquarters of the “new” Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Kawu Baraje, Atiku Abubakar also asked the IGP to instruct his officers to vacate the party’s headquarters immediately.
Atiku, who is currently in China leading a private economic trade mission at the invitation of the Chinese government, interrupted his schedule today to issue a statement declaring the police invasion on the party’s office has no justification in law, but was rather borne out of political control.
The statement reads, “While it is embarrassing that the police have yet to give a reason on why they are laying siege to a political party office, the whole world knows these are acts prompted by unscrupulous politicians who do not even have the moral conscience not to involve the police in politics.”
The former Vice President noted further that, “this goes to the root of the current crisis within the PDP: priorities. What does it say to our citizens, who live daily with the fear of violence and kidnappings, that our police priority is raiding a political party office?”
“I call on the leadership of the Nigerian Police, especially its Inspector General, to steer clear of political entanglements, and immediately vacate our party offices. Our national law enforcement priority must be the safety and security of Nigerians, not politics.”
The former Vice President said it is embarrassing that in a week when a top Christian clergy, top lawyer and senior advocate and countless others are being held captive by kidnappers, the Nigeria Police could muster the resources to seal the headquarters of the “new” PDP in negation of a court order.
According to Atiku, “further, a politically partisan police force sets a dangerous precedent, as they will be entrusted to supervise free and fair elections in the future.”
By the latest behaviour of the police force, the former Vice President said the Inspector-General of Police has put a big question mark over the sincerity of the IG to reform the police.
According to Atiku, IG Abubakar has started on the wrong foot by being openly and overzealously partisan over the internal crisis of the PDP.
