The United Kingdom Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has called for the immediate release of Kogi-born blogger, Mr. Abubakar Usman Sidiq, who was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, today.
In a press release signed by its press secretary, Adenike Lucas, the party said it is a shame that the EFCC acting chairman, Mr Magu, allowed the illegal arrest of Abusidiq under his watch. This arrest was made by armed EFCC operatives in the presence of his young family.
According to Lucas, “Comrade Abu has been a key ally in publishing corruption allegation made by senior staff of the commission. The accusations made in the article I wrote which was published by Comrade Abu last week, should have been investigated but instead, Comrade Abu was arrested.
“The EFCC recently released a statement saying, Comrade Abu was arrested for Cyberstalking. Many see this as an attempt to clamp down on freedom of the press. This is not a dictatorial regime, why is Mr Magu arresting people because they published an article not favourable to him.
“Comrade Abusidiq was a prominent member of the Buhari Media Campaign set up to galvanise votes during the 2015 elections. Is the EFCC trying to embarrass the Government with this shoddy unwarranted arrest of a young publisher?
“In a detailed investigation I conducted over the past few month, I established how desperate Mr Magu was in tarnishing the image of several of PMB’s Ministers – General Abdulrahman Dambazau, Mallam Abba Kyari and Maman Daura, because of his selfish determination to prevent an investigation into the corrupt act of his and his Godfather, Gen. Babagana Monguno, the National Security Adviser who is currently on a trip to Chad with the President.
“We all know that protection of journalistic sources is one of the basic conditions for press freedom hence, I promise that I will continue to speak out and expose the corruption at the EFCC.
“Corruption is a deadly disease and it is all our responsibility to fight it. The arrest of comrade Abu who is working hard to expose corruption is a disgrace to those who arrested him.
“Today is a very sad day for democracy and the change we fought. I urge on President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR to call on a full investigation into this allegation of corruption.
“While it is yet to be confirmed that Comrade Abu will has been released, I demand full explanation from the EFCC acting chairman as to why this young man was arrested in the first place.
I also want assurances that he will not be picked up again neither will his family or friends and those speaking to me about this matter.”
