PDP decries arrest of CUPP spokesman despite court order, calls for his release 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called for the immediate and unconditional release of the spokesman of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere.

The police arrested Ugochinyere allegedly on the orders of the Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila-led House of Representatives over his claim that the lawmakers got a bribe of $10 million from American Billionaire, Bill Gates to pass the contentious Infectious Diseases Control Bill before the House.

But in a statement on Friday, the PDP condemned the arrest, which was in defiance of a subsisting court order barring such.

The party said the arrest was “a direct affront to the judiciary, an assault on our democratic practice and a violation of Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere’s rights as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”

The statement read in detail, “In demanding his release, our party is deeply worried by reports that the CUPP spokesperson is being detained under very dehumanizing condition where he is also allegedly being tortured.

“The PDP insists that, without prejudice to the issues between the leadership of the House of Representatives and the CUPP, for which the two parties were before a court, resorting to using the police to arrest and detain the CUPP spokesperson, in defiance of the orders of the court, is completely unacceptable, unlawful and cannot be justified under any guise whatsoever.

Read also: Police arrests CUPP spokesman Ugochinyere over Reps bribe claims

“Our party charges the Presiding Officers of the APC-led House of Representatives to note that Nigeria is a democratic state, governed by law which creates no space for the whims and caprices of dictatorial, oppressive and vindictive individuals, who have no regard for rules

“The APC leaders in the House of Representatives should, therefore, respect the sanctity of the judiciary and the provisions of the law by following due process in dealing with issues, particularly those guaranteed by the constitution.

“The PDP, therefore, calls on the Inspector General of Police to wade into the matter, insulate the police from the political manipulation of the APC leadership, by immediately ordering the release of the CUPP spokesperson, in keeping with the demands of the tenets of democracy, rule of law and provision of 1999 Constitution.”

Opinions