Secret burial of soldiers: Atiku fires back at Buhari

Former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party in the last presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to stop the intimidation and campaign of calumny against the judiciary and opposition elements.

Atiku spoke in response to allegations by the Presidency that he was pursuing his selfish interest at the expense of Nigerians over his reaction to the allegation of secret burial of 1,000 Nigerian soldiers in unmarked graves, by Wall Street Journal.

In a statement signed by his spokesperson, Paul Ibe, on Sunday, the former PDP presidential candidate reiterated his resolve to continue “to stand up and speak for millions of countrymen and women who have become victims of his (Buhari’s) misrule and grand cluelessness.”

The statement reads: “Like it is typical of General Buhari and his handlers, they didn’t make any comment about the scary statistics coming from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Perhaps, one reason they didn’t want to comment on the report is because it is factual – Nigerians in the past four years indeed live in multi-dimensional poverty.

“Quite regrettably, too, the administration has been groping in the dark since 2015, the reason majority of Nigerians decided not to reward their failures during the February 23 presidential poll, consequently, leading to the heist that characterised the conduct of that poll.

“The other plausible reason they didn’t deem it fit to respond to the report is because Atiku Abubakar has yet to make a remark on the report.

“A Commander-in-Chief, who fits the bill, will not act unconstrained about reports from a reputable media organisation on welfare and wellbeing of troops at the frontline of combat. Shamefully, however, up till this moment, the Buhari administration won’t cause even a blinker on the damning report.

“Like is the case with other dysfunctional aspects of the system, his (Buhari’s) administration prefers to live in denial, relying on propaganda – the only machine that they know how to operate without a glitch.

“We need to restate that Atiku Abubakar respects the practical purpose of the judiciary as an arm of government saddled with the responsibility of dispensing justice.

“Therefore, for the Buhari administration to call out the judiciary on how they might choose to do their job is not only an emotional blackmail to the bench, it is also very disrespectful to the integrity of the honourable justices of the court of law.”