Aug 10, 2014 My Arrest In Osun: We Are In A Militarized Democracy – Mohammed
My Arrest In Osun: We Are In A Militarized Democracy –
Mohammed
National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC),
Alhaji Lai Mohammed has slammed President Jonathan for the
deployment of over 70,000 soldiers to Osun to monitor Saturday’s
election, saying it shows that “we are in a militarized democracy.”
“Irrespective of the outcome of the Osun election, democracy has
been dealt a near-mortal blow. 73,000 ‘security agents’, including
the military, police, DSS, Civil Defence, ex-militants, thugs and
murderers, deployed to police election in just one state?”
Mohammed, who said he was arrested hours before the election
commenced late on Friday night said he was lucky to be alive.
The APC spokesman was said to have been arrested alongside a
media aide to the party’s national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu and Mr. Afolabi Afolabi Salisu, Deputy Chief of Staff to Gov.
Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State.
“We were being driven to the Government House when we were
stopped at a military check point by men in military and DSS
uniforms, all hooded and armed to the teeth with AK-47 assault
rifles, pistols and other weapons. Since there was no curfew in
Osun and people were moving around freely, we felt it was a
routine check.
“Suddenly, the men, some of them apparently drunk, ordered us out
of the car, took our phones, pointed their assault rifles at our heads
and said ‘you are under arrest’. They herded us into their bus like
animals and drove away. There is no doubt that they knew who
we are because I introduced myself!
“From our encounter with our tormentors, there is also no doubt
that these were not just soldiers and DSS officials, there were also
ex-militants and thugs, all clad in military and DSS uniforms but
apparently lacking in any training! We also witnessed how men in
military and DSS uniform fired their guns at the gate leading to the
residence of Senator Isiaka Adeleke to force it open!
“We asked them why we were being arrested, but they ignored
our question as they drove for close to one hour before veering into
a compound that turned out to be the offices of the DSS. There, we
met people who had been previously arrested and stri*ped of their
clothing, many of them bloodied from the beatings to which they
must have been subjected.
“We were herded to one side as our tormentors marched around
triumphantly, in what could well have been a scene from the
Ukraine! We were waiting for our turn to be stri*ped of our apparels
and taken along with those who were arrested earlier to the DSS
cells when a man who is apparently a senior DSS official intervened
and ordered our release. The men who arrested us, apparently
unhappy at the order to set us free, rejected the order, until the
man asserted his authority and even accompanied us to where we
were arrested from.
“Our party, the APC, has, no doubt, whatsoever that the depravity
being exhibited under President Jonathan’s watch, in the name of
politics, has his imprimatur. We have no doubt that elections, which
should be a celebration of democracy, have now been turned to
war because of the desperation of President Jonathan to win re-
election at all costs. We have no doubt that the anarchic Minister of
State for Defence and Minister of Police Affairs, who are leading the
”troops” in Osun as they did in Ekiti, are taking their cue from
President Jonathan.
“If those Ministers can move around freely in Osun and elsewhere,
why can’t other Nigerians, irrespective of the party they belong to?
If a PDP “hireling” like Chris Uba can be put in the command of 50
soldiers of the Nigerian Army, why should anyone still be under any
illusion that the Nigerian Army is still serving the nation? Where else
in the world is a thug commanding disciplined forces?
“We (Lai Mohammed, Sunday Dare and Afolabi Salisu), are just
fortunate to be alive. The guns pointed at our heads by drunken
armed men could have gone off! Since our arrest took place in the
dark, we could have been driven to an unknown destination and
shot dead! This is a dangerous time for Nigeria and her democracy,”
the statement said.
Created at 2014-08-10 05:42
Back to posts
UNDER MAINTENANCE