The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s death threat to ballot box snatchers as an incitement to electoral violence.
Buhari had on Monday warned that ballot snatchers might have to pay with their lives if caught during the election.
And while reacting to the threat, Atiku in a statement, said the comment is offensive.
“We were shocked to hear General Buhari live on national television threatening to kill people for an offence where no such proscription exists under law,” the statement added.
“The last time we looked the death-penalty was not a sanction of the 2010 election act.”
He noted that “threatening people with death in the context of an election is [an] incitement to electoral violence, which is an offence under that act.
“Once again General Buhari is showing his true colours and complete disregard for our constitution and the laws of this country. He is getting confused with when he was President under military rule.
“His fig leaf of being a ‘reformed democrat’ has been blown away by this latest statement leaving his democratic credentials as naked as the day he was born.”
Atiku assured that “I have always been a democrat and defender of our laws and constitution.
“So rather than makeup new penalties on the spot in a press conference, our plans to establish the EFC by using the framework of the 2002 establishing act of the EFCC have been well researched so that we can introduce this new entity within days of assuming office.
“Likewise, we do not believe in the principle of retrospective legislation so it will be empowered to investigate and prosecute electoral malpractice based on the 2010 Electoral Act.
“Any person considering conducting electoral malpractice, inciting violence or the illegal arrest of political opponents should be put on notice that my administration on entering office will apply the full force of the law on them.”
