FG denies witch-hunting past leaders

FG denies witch-hunting past leaders

- The federal government has denied alleged plot to frame and jail former President Olusegun Obasanjo

- The federal government said the Muhammadu Buhari's administration is too busy to be witch-hunting past leaders

The federal government of Nigeria has denied the allegation by former President Olusegun Obasanjo that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is plotting to frame him and have him locked up in jail.

The minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, in a statement issued on Friday, June 8, said the Buhari administration is too busy clearing up the mess of the past leaders and has no plan to witch-hunt anybody, Tribune reports.

Mohammed said: ”This administration will never engage in a frame-up of innocent citizens. That is neither in the character of President Muhammadu Buhari nor in that of his administration. Only the guilty should be worried. To paraphrase an African proverb, a man who has no wife cannot lose an inlaw to the cold hands of death.

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”The administration is also strongly committed to the tenets of democracy, including freedom of speech and the right to dissent. But we understand that those who, in their time, were untethered to those principles would find it hard to believe."

The minister also said he was curious that the allegation of witchunting is coming barely a day after President Buhari declared June 12 a Democracy Day.

He said: "Apparently, the impact of this proclamation was too much to bear by those who, through acts of omission or commission, helped to deepen the wounds inflicted by the blow of injustice that followed an election that was widely acclaimed to be free, fair and credible, hence they felt the need for a red herring that will distract the nation.

"Added to that is the frustration brought about by the fact that the contraption they have so much hyped as a freeway to power has failed to gain traction. Faced with this double tragedy, even the strongest of men may begin to succumb to a figment of their imagination. They may start crying wolf where there is none."

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Meanwhile, former vice president, Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the allegation by former president, Olusegun Obasanjo.

Atiku, in a statement released on Friday, June 8, said such actions would only aggravate the already heated polity in the land and urged President Buhari to call the security agencies to order.

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Source: Legit.ng

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Khadijah Thabit (Copyeditor) Khadijah Thabit is an editor with over 3 years of experience editing and managing contents such as articles, blogs, newsletters and social leads. She has a BA in English and Literary Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Khadijah joined Legit.ng in September 2020 as a copyeditor and proofreader for the Human Interest, Current Affairs, Business, Sports and PR desks. As a grammar police, she develops her skills by reading novels and dictionaries. Email: khadeeejathabit@gmail.com