Minister of state, Labour and Employment and Director, Public Affairs of the All Progressives Congress APC Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo SAN has called on security agencies to place the presidential candidate of the Labour Party Peter Obi and some of his supporters on a terror watchlist.
Keyamo who accused Obi of wanting “to cause religious and tribal crises in the country,” made the call while reacting to calls by the Labour Party (LP) asking security agencies to place him (Keyamo) on a terror watchlist.
He said, “I also call on the Security Agencies in Nigeria to place Mr Peter Obi and some of his demented supporters on the terror watch lists for circulating an incendiary video with a fake message by one of his supporters called Powell Glad Legbe (on his Facebook page) calling on Yorubas not to vote for Peter Obi. Mr Peter Obi then wrongly and wickedly attributed that quote to an amorphous ‘Tinubu group’.
“Up till now he has not withdrawn his accusation nor has he apologised to our candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“It is obvious Mr. Peter Obi wants to cause religious and tribal crises in the country and for this, I call on the security agencies to place Mr Peter Obi on security watch or invite him for a thorough investigation.
“If necessary, I am prepared to be invited too as a witness to prove my case against him”, Keyamo stated.
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Back story
The Labour Party had called for Keyamo, to be placed on security watch list in a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of LP, Abayomi Arabambi on Tuesday.
The statement was in response to Keyamo’s allegation that the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was planning to fake an assassination attempt and hire some supporters dressed in the APC caps and T-shirts to attack his party offices.
Keyamo had also accused Obi of circulating a hate-filled video online to disparage APC’s presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The statement read in part, “President Muhammadu Buhari must now as a matter of urgency directs the service chiefs to place Festus Keyamo and other APC presidential Campaign members and supporters on a security watch list as they are now a threat to democracy ahead of the 2023 general elections.
“I called on the Inspector General of Police to urgently commence a comprehensive investigation into Mr Festus Keyamo unlawful and treasonable activities. His conducts are likely to cause a breach of peace and anarchy in our country if this ugly trend is not nipped in the bud and Keyamo be made to face possible prosecution in a court of Law.
“LP sees the forced self-confession of the APC about the conspiracy being floated by the APC to assassinate the most popular and supported people’s preferred and loved 2023 Presidential Candidate, as yet another proof of God’s involvement with the Peter Obi candidacy.”
“It is also the responsibility of security agencies to ensure that all the candidates are truly secured. The LP is loudly and clearly expressing its condemnation of the criminally-inclined politics the APC is trying to re-introduce into the Nigerian political system.
“Labour party considered this devilish act by the APC presidential spokesman as not only deceitful but a subtle way to gain unmerited sympathy in their bogus attempt at employing crude primitive tactics clandestinely in order to win the 2023 presidential election through fraudulent means
“Festus Keyamo’s provocative and highly disparaging insinuation against our Presidential candidate would have been ignored with its puerile contents but it is expedient to set the record straight for the benefits of the public and our party members.
“Labour Party wishes to remind Festus Keyamo that Chapter IV of the Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria on fundamental Rights section 33(1) states: “Every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria,” he stated.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
