PDP chairman blasts FG over Gbadamosi’s arrest

The Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Otunba Segun Adewale has condemned the continued detention of Babatunde Olalere Gbadamosi, a PDP gubernatorial aspirant in the 2015 general election describing it as an attempt by the ruling APC to silence opposition voice. ‎

The chairman handed down this condemnation while speaking with journalists today on his arrival from Abuja where he went to pay a solidarity visit to the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. He said “the intolerance attitude of the ruling APC of opposing views signal danger for our nascent democracy. The recent acts of dictatorship exhibited by our security agencies sadden my heart, how could we have gotten to this stage in our democratic history? How could we have descended from a nation that signed into law the freedom of information bill at one point to a nation where anyone with opposing view to the ruling government is arrested, intimidated and molested by state security apparatus. This action goes to confirm allegations that the APC led administration was never prepared for inclusive governance and that it is a  government of deceit built on lies and vendetta”

It would be recalled that Gbadamosi was arrested by the DSS on the 22nd February for reasons not made public and he has since being detained at the agency headquarters in Abuja.

Adewale described Gbadamosi as “a forthright, enterprising and illustrious son of Lagos State as well as  a very active member of the state chapter of the party”.

Adewale cautioned the APC led federal government on the danger of turning the country into a one party state by squashing those who regularly criticize their mal-administration saying that “objective criticism and a vibrant opposition are necessary ingredients in any thriving democracy”.

The PDP chieftain called on the Directorate of State Security (DSS) to resist every attempt by politicans to use the agency as a tool to oppress the citizens; stressing that this trend is alien to our democratic culture especially since the commencement of this democratic dispensation. He stressed that the DSS should allow the rule of law to prevail by setting  Gbadamosi free without further delay.

Finally he called on the international community to closely monitor the federal government as regards actions that constantly violate the rights of the Nigerian citizens. According to him, “most actions of the federal government against opposition voices are capable of pushing globally accepted democratic norms into extinction.”