The Coalition of Northern Groups
(CNG) says despite benefiting from the tolerance of the previous administration
headed by Goodluck Jonathan, the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is
becoming “more and more intolerant of criticism”.
In a statement issued in Kaduna
on Sunday, the group alleged that the Buhari administration is gradually
turning Nigeria to a police state.
Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, spokesman
of the group, was reacting to the invitation of Ghali Na’Abba,a former speaker
of the house of representatives, by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The secret police invited Na’Abba
after he made critical comments about the Buhari administration while unveiling
the agenda of the National Consultative Front, a new political movement.
The former speaker had said those
currently in power have failed Nigerians, citing insecurity and unemployment.
In the statement, Suleiman said
no one should be denied his or her rights to expression.
“The CNG finds it worrying that
the current administration is becoming more and more intolerant of opposition
and criticism and gradually dragging the country towards a police state,”
Suleiman said in the statement.
“We find this attempt to harass
Na Abbah, a senior citizen and critical stakeholder in the nation’s democratic
process, a brutal encroachment on the universal citizens right to freedom of
expression which is a fundamental characteristic of any democratic state.
“By its continuous attempt to
suppress the existence of the right to freedom of expression which includes the
freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas
without interference by the public authority, President Muhammadu Buhari’s
administration is exposing its failure in sportsmanship, statesmanship and
political craftsmanship.
“It is ridiculous that those who
run this government who happened to have benefited the most from the previous
administration’s tolerant disposition should be the ones denying others the
same rights they enjoyed.
“We therefore find it absolutely
unacceptable for a people who in no way bore the brunt of the struggle for the
return to democracy to be hellbent now on scuttling it.”
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