A former Military Governor of Kaduna State, Col. Dangiwa Umar (rtd.), has criticised the Federal Government for the continuing detention of Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), the National Security Adviser during the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Umar, who is also the Chairman, Movement for Unity and Progress, said the only reason for Dasuki’s continuing detention was that he served under the Jonathan, who he described as the most maligned President of Nigeria.
The former military governor was quoted as making the comment in a statement circulated by an Abuja-based public relations outfit, the PR Nigeria, on Sunday.
He called on Nigerians to speak against the detention of the former NSA, which he described as unjust and unfair.
Umar stated, “The only explanation one can find for Col. Dasuki’s lengthy detention without trial is that he belongs to the wrong camp. He has also the misfortune of having served as National Security Adviser to the much-vilified Nigerian President of Ijaw extraction.
“Colonel Dasuki’s fate is tied to that of his former principal, President Goodluck Jonathan, an honourable and patriotic Nigerian, who conceded defeat and congratulated the winner of the 2015 Presidential election, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, even before INEC declared the final results, when he could have held on tenaciously to power as is the norm in many Third World Countries.
“This rare act of statesmanship, which pulled the country back from the precipice, has been rewarded with utmost disrespect and derision by the All Progressives Congress Federal Government.
“Col. Dasuki is paying dearly for his loyal service to this patriot. All well-meaning Nigerians must speak out against his unfair and unlawful treatment. We cannot afford to remain neutral in the face of this monumental injustice.
“When one Nigerian is unlawfully detained, all of us must have the moral consciousness to feel psychologically incarcerated.”
Umar described the suspension and investigation of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal, and the Director-General, National Intelligence Agency, Amb. Ayodele Oke, as a departure from the unlawful detention of opposition figures in the country.
“There is national unanimity in support of the war against corruption which is expected to be non-discriminatory and waged by a meticulous adherence to the rule of law. For the war to be meaningful and sustainable, it must be elevated beyond President Buhari’s personal struggle to a national one,” he added
He recalled that the Federal Government had ignored the orders of courts, including the ECOWAS court, to grant bail to Dasuki on the grounds that the ex-NSA’s offence was grievous.
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