Nigeria’s most vocal opposition political party, the Action Congress (AC), has expressed deep shock and dismay at the arrest of its guber natorial candidate for Osun state in the 2007 general elections, Alhaji Rauf Aregbesola, over the genuineness or otherwise of a police report which he tendered at the Election Petition Tribunal.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Al haji Lai Mohammed, the party also expressed concern at the safety of Aregbesola while in the custody of the police, which has shown crass partisanship in handling the issue.
Calling for the immediate release of its candidate, AC said the action of the police in arresting Aregbesola amounted to pre-empt the election petition tribunal, as the tribunal has yet to pronounce on the genuineness or otherwise of the document in question.
AC also reminded the police of Tuesday’s ruling of a Federal High Court in Lagos, which warned the Inspector-General of Police against impeding Aregbesola in the prosecution of his petition before the Osun Tribunal.
“It is sad that the new Inspector-General of Police, Ogbonnaya Onovo, has chosen to start off on a shaky note by defying the court and acting in the interest of the PDP.
“This has further confirmed our belief that the Nigeria Police Force has become an enforcement arm of the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party), but what is the ruling party afraid of in this case” the party queried.
It said the simple reason for arresting Aregbesola at this time is to rattle him and put him away so he cannot successfully prosecute his case at the Tribunal, adding: “Arresting him on the strength of a document tendered before the tribunal is also aimed at prejudicing the tribunal.
“Otherwise, when did the police assume the powers to pronounce over the authenti city of a document submitted to the court”
AC said even if the document were fake, it is up to the tribunal to make that decision, not the police which in any case took all of two years to decide that the police report is fake.
The party explained that its concern over Aregbesola’s safety while in police custody stemmed from the continued harassment of the candidate as well as his aides, some of whom have even been killed, since he started prosecuting his case at the tribunal.
“Nothing must happen to Aregbesola,” AC warned the police.
It said instead of non-stop persecution by the partisan police, Aregbesola deserves commendation for doggedly fighting to retrieve his stolen mandate within the ambit of the rule of law, instead of resorting to violence.
“This man has spent millions of naira and even employed a scientific method – by inviting a world class forensic expert to inspect voting materials – in order to prove that his mandate was stolen during the 2007 governorship election.
“The resort to the courts has sent a clear signal to his numerous supporters that he would not engage in any self help to retrieve his mandate. He deserves commendation, not persecution,” AC said.