By Ado Hassan, Sokoto
Sokoto state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) yesterday cried foul against the Nigeria Police Force for alleged display of partisanship, intimidation, harassment and unlawful arrest of its members and supporters.
The ruling PDP in the state insist that no amount of intimidation and harassment can frighten and deter it from working hard to realise its electoral plans and ambition of ensuring all its candidates for the 2019 polls emerged victorious.
It said the police use of force to suppress the opposition in Sokoto state through incessant arrests and detention have became so alarming across the state.
Speaking through its state Publicity Secretary, Abdullahi Yusuf Hausawa, accused the police of partisanship also expressed the party’s lack of confidence in the force describing it’s act as partial and tantamount to dancing to the tone of the ruling APC government at the centre.
Hausawa while addressing a press conference said ” They(police) have now turned to tools of suppression, persecution and instilling of fears in members and supporters of PDP and people of the state.
” We wish to remind the
IGP that we will not refrain from our stand to ensure justice and fairness to our teeming party members and supporters without fear of any intimidation or persecution from the sponsors of campaign of calamny against our party.
” We will use all constitutional and legal avenues to fight for our rights through the freedom of association, political expression and movement”, he stressed.
Hausawa said ” we have written two letters of complains on the allegations and one other to intimate the police of the establishment of a support office for “Mutawalle Network” to the state Commissioner of police and copied IGP among other heads of security agencies.”
The party however, noted in clear terms that President Buhari had promised fairness, equality and justice among all Nigerians without fear or favour, affection or ill will, sdifferent from the acts of victimisation and injustice being perpetrated by the police in the state.
” Sadly and ironically, while our citizens including our members and supporters are being attacked on daily basis, our police have turned into partisan lot by not arresting or prosecuting such criminals.”
Accordingly, ” we are categorically saying that we will no longer fold our arms and watch as the police are arbitrarily arresting and framing up criminal charges against our innocent and helpless supporters and our offices.”
It further accused the police of allegedly turning into appendage of destruction and tension affliction used by the APC leadership in the state.
Hausawa also accused former Governor and Senator Aliyu Wamakko through which PDP and it’s supporters were being intimidated, harassed and threatened.
