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Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie
A former Catholic archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Okogie, has said that Nigeria was back to the era of military dictatorship.
In a statement on Friday, the outspoken Catholic priest said that the country needed leaders, who would be interested in listening to the people and entertaining their views no matter how critical it may be.
Okogie, who condemned the now usual disobedience of court orders by President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime, added that it was important for citizens’ rights to be respected for Nigeria to make progress as a democratic society.
He said, “If the executive disobeys court rulings, and if it intimidates and humiliates the judiciary, then we are back to the era when a military junta made laws and interpreted them without any regard for fundamental human rights.
“In a democracy, those who govern are chosen by the people to represent the people. And if they are to represent the people, they must listen to the people. Not only do true democrats listen, they also are not afraid of dissenting opinions.
“They do not arrogate to themselves the power to accuse, arrest, prosecute and convict. But can we candidly say we have democrats at the helm of affairs in this country at this point in time?
“How can we claim to live in a democracy when presidential spokespersons tell us the presidency is always right?
“We have returned to a sinful past when citizens could be abducted and locked up in detention without trial under the pretext of acting in the interest of national security.
“But Nigerians do not want military rule anymore.”
Since the invasion of the Federal High Court on December 6 by operatives of the Department of State Services to forcefully rearrest pro-democracy campaigner and journalist, Omoyele Sowore, less than 24 hours after he was released from detention, the Nigerian Government has been slammed by prominent individuals and groups from all around the world.
Sowore was first arrested on August 3, 2019 by operatives of the DSS in Lagos for calling on citizens to take to the streets in peaceful demonstrations to demand a better country from Buhari’s administration.
In charges that have been described as baseless and laughable by observers around the world, the government is accusing Sowore of insulting Buhari and planning to bring down his government.
But despite two court orders directing his freedom on bail, the 48-year-old journalist remains in detention – a glaring breach of his fundamental human rights as guaranteed by the Nigerian constitution and several conventions the country is a signatory to.
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SaharaReporters, New York
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