PUNCH EDITORIAL 29TH JUNE : JONATHANS UNFOLDING DICTATORIAL TENDENCIES The suspicion that the Presidency is complicit in the gale of repression by the military could be deduced from the silence of Jonathan. When the military went astray late in May, seizing and destroying newspapers across the country, in an unprecedented assault on free speech never witnessed in a democratic era, the President, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, failed to address the issue or demand explanations from his troops. Last year, five opposition state governors, who were on a solidarity visit to Amaechi in Rivers State, were hounded by armed thugs while the conniving police looked on; their vehicles were damaged. A senator, Magnus Abe, was attacked by thugs and injured by police teargas at a rally in support of Amaechi. Add the recent allegations that signals of the British Broadcasting Corporation and Voice of America Hausa services were ordered to be blocked, and a grim picture of Jonathan’s descent into tyranny becomes very clear. In saner climes, the record of repression by the Jonathan government and the way he is using the military to subvert civil rights would have landed him in serious trouble. But, rather than accept their fate, tamely, those whose rights have been abridged should seek legal redress. Civil society groups and other Nigerians, especially members of the Nigerian Bar Association, should not fold their arms and allow the country’s democracy to be further desecrated without lawful challenge. punchng/editorial/jonathans-unfolding-dictatorial-tendencies/
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 08:56:22 +0000
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