The opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP, has decried yesterday’s arrest of some serving Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and the Federal High Court by operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, describing it as an “inexorable slide into fascism”.
The PDP said the invasion and arrest of the judges is the latest in a series of actions taken by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration which reveal its disregard for the rule of law and its abject disdain for the Principle of Separation of Powers.
“This slide into fascism has included a sustained attack on the leadership of the National Assembly as President Buhari has sought to break its independence and make it a rubber stamp to suit his will”, the party said in a statement made available today via its official social media platforms on Facebook and Twitter.
The statement, which was signed by its National Publicity Secretary Prince Dayo Adeyeye, further noted that never in the history of Nigeria has any president attacked the judiciary in such a manner.
“Even the late dictator – General Sani Abacha, whose regime is remembered by many as the second worst regime in Nigerian history, did not carry out such Gestapo style attacks on the members of the Judiciary.
“By bringing this attack to the Judiciary, President Buhari has shown that he has no desire to respect the pillars of our democracy. He has shown his desire to kill off our democracy and convert
it to an autocracy without checks and balances”, the party said.
It also faulted Buhari for not obeying a court order pronounced by the ECOWAS Court with respect to the continued detention of former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd).
“The government has no regard for the rule of law. They do not care about Court Orders. This Government has disregarded the Orders of the ECOWAS Court and every other Courts in the land and continue to detain Dasuki illegally. They continue to detain hundreds of Nigerians without bringing them to trial and against valid Court Orders.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Constitution in Section 153(1)(i) and Part 1 of the Third Schedule thereto establishes the National Judicial Council (NJC) and empowers same to regulate and discipline judges across the Country. The proper path to follow to discipline erring judges will be to forward a petition containing any wrong doing to the NJC along with any evidence in support thereof”, the PDP said.
The opposition party said Nigerians could no longer stand and watch the Buhari Administration destroy the foundations of the country’s democracy.
