The former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has expressed the fear that Nigeria is sliding into dictatorship under President Bola Tinubu administration.
Atiku in a statement on Sunday, accused the president of muzzling free speech, which he said, erodes the integrity of the democratic ethos that define our nation.
“It is a development that should trouble every Nigerian, for if this creeping culture of repression continues unchecked, it will ultimately turn the Federal Government into a bully, and make subjects of free citizens,” he warned.
The former vice president noted a number of Nigerians currently on trial or languishing in detention facilities across the country, noting that “both local and international human rights organisations have drawn attention to the steady descent of the Tinubu administration into the shadows of dictatorship.”
Atiku said Tinubu introduced the obnoxious Cyberstalking Act to silence opposition to his government, describing the Act as “an aberration, an affront to freedom,” and called on Nigerians to reject it.
“The so-called Cyberstalking Act is a chilling reminder of the infamous Sedition Laws that many civilised nations have long discarded.
“In the 21st century, it is unthinkable that the government of Nigeria — or any government, for that matter — should seek to control free speech, that sacred pillar of liberty and the lifeblood of democracy,” he said.
The former vice president stated that any law that impedes, suppresses, or limits the right of citizens to make critical remarks about their leaders — whether on digital highways, in print, or through spoken word — is undemocratic and a direct assault on the spirit of fundamental human rights.
He noted that in the two and a half years of Tinubu’s administration Nigeria has witnessed protests, which he blamed on harsh economic hardship imposed on the people by the administration.
Atiku said Nigerians are hungry and could no longer bear the weight of Tinubu’s bad governance.
“Yet, rather than listen, the government has chosen the path of brute force and intimidation — treating dissent as treason and turning peaceful protesters into prisoners.
“It is tragic, indeed, that such violations of constitutionally guaranteed rights are occurring at a time when our democracy ought to be maturing.
“We must remind the Tinubu regime that no government, no matter how powerful, is greater than the people. To attempt otherwise is impolitic, preposterous, and destined to fail,” he warned.
He told Tinubu that no responsible government disperses peaceful protesters with teargas canisters or hides behind ambiguous laws to arrest and re-arrest citizens who have been granted bail by competent courts.
“The Tinubu government’s disregard for the rule of law and persistent disobedience of court orders have become its most infamous credentials. Human rights groups, both at home and abroad, have repeatedly raised the alarm, yet the pattern persists.
“From journalists jailed for speaking truth to power, to citizens arrested during the #EndBadGovernance protests, Nigerians continue to suffer persecution simply for daring to think, to speak, or to protest.
“If truth be told, this regime may have surpassed all its predecessors in the reckless use of state power to crush public opinion,” he said.
The former vice president stated that since the inception of President Tinubu’s administration, Amnesty International has consistently faulted the nation’s human rights record.
“Other reputable bodies such as the Nigeria Union of Journalists and Media Rights Agenda have cried out against the jackboot oppression of journalists and citizens by state agents whose only mission seems to be to stifle dissent,” Atiku added.
