Prominent groups and Nigerians on Tuesday berated the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, for declaring Babangida’s spokesman wanted.

A human rights advocacy group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, challenged the legality of the move by the police to arrest Afegbua.

In a statement on Tuesday by its Deputy Director, Timothy Adewale, SERAP faulted the police on the arrest order.

SERAP said, “To speak out about political or other public interest issues cannot qualify as making false statements. And it is certainly not defamation of character, let alone an act capable of instigating public disturbance. It is the essence of democracy and human rights.

“Declaring Afegbua wanted is unwarranted because there is no evidence of inciting violence against him.

“Declaring him wanted for exercising his right to freedom of expression is the hallmark of an oppressive government.

“The police should immediately withdraw its unlawful declaration and end the harassment of Afegbua. President Muhammadu Buhari should publicly instruct the police that it’s their duty to facilitate people’s enjoyment of their freedoms, not to hinder them.

 “At any rate, Babangida is not known to have lodged any complaint to the police on the matter. He reportedly confirmed Afegbua’s statement. Even if Babangida had issues with Afegbua’s statement, it’s not the police’s business to take upon itself Babangida’s perceived cause of action.”

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party cautioned the police and other security agencies not be used by the All Progressives Congress as instruments for persecuting Nigerians.

The PDP said the move to arrest Afegbua was a ploy to set the agenda for a vicious muzzling of constitutionally-guaranteed free speech.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement on Tuesday, said some “recent distasteful events,” including unwarranted harassment of perceived opponents of the APC, showed that the party was jittery.

The opposition party said the APC had   realised that its chances of winning the 2019 general elections had vanished.

It described the trend as a dangerous threat to the nation’s democracy and symptomatic of a failed party that was prepared to turn against the citizens in a desperate bid to hang onto power against the will of the people.

It said, “We now have a terrifying situation where people are harassed for daring to aspire for certain elective offices or expressing opinion regarding governance in the country.

“Nigerians and the international community have seen that almost all those who have openly expressed, or perceived to be nursing ambition for certain offices, including the presidency, are now facing one trumped-up charge or the other, ostensibly meant to cow and discredit them.

“The APC has refused to wake up to the reality that Nigerians have reached a consensus rejecting it and that no amount of intimidation and persecution with state apparatus of power can make them change that resolve to vote out APC and its candidates come 2019.

“We therefore call on all well-meaning Nigerians to caution the APC.

“The fact that the APC is leaving office in 2019 has become inevitable and no one should be part of their desperation to completely ruin our nation before their exit.”

IG has defamed Afegbua –Falana

A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), said the Inspector-General of Police had defamed Afegbua by declaring him wanted.

Falana, in a statement on Monday said “no criminal offence known to law has been committed to warrant the action of the Inspector-General of Police.”

The SAN said, “By declaring Mr. Afegbua wanted when he has not failed to honour the invitation of the police, the Inspector-General of Police has overreached himself. It is the Inspector-General of Police who has defamed Mr. Afegbua by portraying him as a fugitive from the law.  Therefore, Mr. Idris is advised to withdraw the offensive declaration without any further delay.

“Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the issuance of the public statement by Mr. Afegbua and the denial by General Babangida, it ought to be pointed out that no criminal offence known to law has been committed to warrant the action of the Inspector-General of Police. More so, both General Babangida and President Buhari have not complained that the controversial press statement defamed them.

“In fact, if the statement is considered defamatory, whoever is injured would have to institute a civil suit where he will be required to put his own reputation in issue.”

Falana said those in public office should not be intolerant of criticisms.

According to him, where a writer exceeds the bounds, there should be a resort to the law of libel where the plaintiff must of necessity ‘‘put his character and reputation in issue.’’

‘We are on a dangerous road to dictatorship’

Another lawyer, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, said the nation was on the road to dictatorship.

He said, “For us, this is not about Afegbua. It is about the dangerous road to civilian dictatorship that our much raped and abused country is, again, taking by the IGP’s attempt to kill rights to freedom of expression.

“We are not so much interested in what IBB said or what he didn’t say. It is the brightness of the day that brings forth the adder. We are concerned about the role the police are now being allowed to play in our democracy.”

Afegbua’ll appear before police today –Lawyer

Afegbua, will present himself to the police on Wednesday (today), his lawyer, Ajulo, has said.

The lawyer, in a letter to the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, on Tuesday protested that his client was not invited by the police before he was declared wanted on Monday.

He stated that Afegbua had been “advised of his right and remedies available to him as a law abiding citizen of Nigeria, and he has elected to make himself available to the police on Wednesday once he returns from his trip.”

He said, “There are spelt out procedures for declaring a person wanted. The police or other law enforcement agencies can declare a person wanted if they find reasons to do so, particularly if the person is a suspect in the commission of a crime and is on the run.

“Our client, in discharging his duty to his principal (Babangida) can neither be said to have committed a crime that warrants such negative publicity nor is he on the run.”

The lawyer stated that the arrest order would be challeged in court.