Aisha, BBOG co-founder, slams Buhari on claims on due process, rule of law

The co-founder of the Bring Back Our Girls Movement, Aisha Yesufu has said that the recent declaration of support for the rule of law by President Muhammadu Buhari at the recently concluded United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, must go beyond lips service if Nigeria is to be taken seriously in the international arena.

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Aisha who stated this in a two-minute video she made available to another media house on Wednesday particularly faulted the ongoing trial of journalist cum politician, Omoyele Sowore, currently in the custody of the Department of State Security, DSS for allegedly calling for a revolution.

“At the United Nations General Assembly, the President, Muhammadu Buhari said, ‘freedom, tolerance and the rule of law are universal values and underline the best that this general assembly represents and that binds us all. In Nigeria, we have made significant strides to put our house in order. We will work tirelessly to uphold due process. The rule of law remains the permanent, unchanging foundation of the world order.’

“The same President Buhari that said these words does not practice those words. Sowore has been granted bail by a court of law in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but the Nigerian government of which President Buhari is the head has not released Sowore. The same government that says it obeys the rule of law and follows due process? That is not acceptable.

“The world must stop watching, the United Nations should stop being a body that watches leaders behave in a high-handed manner without doing anything because at the end of the day, whatever

“Yes, every nation has sovereignty, but we must hold leaders responsible for their words. President Buhari must ensure that his government obeys the courts in his nation. Enough is enough,” she said.

In yet another video recording, the fiery activist also condemned the recent ordeal of the writer, Chido Onumah, in the hands of the DSS.

Although the security agency has since advanced reason for picking up the writer for questioning, Aisha urged its operatives to focus on their primary mandate of intelligence gathering for the good of the land.

“DSS picked up Onumah at the airport apparently because he was wearing a T-shirt that says ‘We are all Biafrans.’ Are we not all Biafrans? Are we not all now refugees in our country? So, DSS that ought to be an intelligence-gathering organisation, protecting Nigeria, picks up a man wearing a T-Shirt who wrote a book with the title, “We are all Biafrans? Is it the same DSS we expect to gather intelligence to arrest Shekau (Abubakar), curb Boko Haram, arrest kidnappers that are terrorising us?

“We are in real trouble in this country. Our voices can never be shut down. We will continue to call out this government that has failed in all ramifications. We will continue to call out a government that is not accountable, that has not given us good governance,” she added.