The Presidency yesterday said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has diminished his status in public life because of his position on the recent hunger protests in the country.
According to the Presidency, the former number two citizen failed the test of patriotism and statesmanship over his comments on the street processions.
Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga said in a statement that Atiku’s comment on the handling of the protest and protesters by security agencies was in bad faith.
In a tweet, Atiku alleged that Service Chiefs committed crimes against humanity by approving the use of lethal force against protesters.
Faulting Atiku’s comment, Onanuga said security agencies were professional in their handling of the protests.
His words: ”Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar this evening tweeted the absurd: he warned security agencies against using lethal force against looters and arsonists who masqueraded as protesters.
“As a statesman, his warning ought to be to the looting mob in Kaduna, Kano, Plateau, Jigawa states, who hijacked what was advertised by organisers as a peaceful protest.
“Our security forces have remained professional, even-handed, and observed every restraint in the face of extreme provocation by the rioters.
“We are surprised that Alhaji Atiku is still relying on Section 40 of our constitution (as amended) to justify a protest that is now clearly a riot, a rampage in some parts of the country. Section 45 of the constitution says the right of assembly and the right of freedom of expression are not absolute.
“They can be abridged and fettered in the interest of public peace, public safety, law, and order. The Service Chiefs reiterated the rights of Nigerians to protest and gather freely.
They, however, reinforced their constitutional duty, today, when they said they can not sit by idly and watch hoodlums destroy the country and its democracy.
“The Service Chiefs and the officers and men of our security outfits should be commended for their patriotic duty to our country.
“As a supporter of the destructive ‘protests’, Alhaji Atiku certainly wants the sinister protest to continue despite the red signals from the streets.
“A tweet that condones the destruction of private and public property and investments of citizens is unbecoming of a former vice president of Nigeria.
“Alhaji Atiku ought to have risen above the sentiment he expressed and put the interest of our country’s stability ahead of whatever advantages he hoped to reap from the insurrection on our streets.”
