Festus Keyamo (SAN), minister of state for labor and employment and spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, has petitioned the State Security Services (SSS) to arrest and prosecute Mr. Peter Obi, candidate for president of the Labour Party (LP), and Datti Baba-Ahmed, his running mate, for allegedly inciting Nigerians regarding the results of the just-concluded presidential election.
In a petition dated March 23 and submitted to the Director General of SSS, Keyamo claimed that following an election, it is important to calm frayed nerves, bring down the body’s temperature, and start the healing process.
Keyamo asserted that the pair have been making explosive remarks and assertions against the Independent National Electoral Commission’s proclamation of the president-elect ever since the results of the presidential election were announced (INEC).
He contends that those statements and assertions went beyond simply exercising their rights to free speech and the right to publicly air their grievances by calling for the adoption of procedures that are not explicitly contemplated by the Constitution. Instead, they crossed the line into calling for the outright truncation of democracy.
Nevertheless, in a prompt response, Dr. Tanko Yunusa, the chief spokesperson for the Obi/Datti Campaign Organization, labeled Keyamo as a well-known rabble-rouser and chatterbox who doesn’t want to lose political importance in the eyes of his paymasters.
Yunusa asserted that Baba-Ahmed is a free citizen of Nigeria and is entitled to exercise his fundamental right to freedom of expression. He also stated that Baba-Ahmed has never advocated treason or called for acts of insurrection.
