Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has accused the current administration of persecuting Bukola Saraki, immediate past senate president.
Atiku said this while reacting to the ongoing investigation of Saraki by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The anti-graft agency is investigating Saraki’s tenure both as governor of Kwara state as well his time at the senate.
But Atiku said the issues the EFCC is probing have all been investigated in the past.
In a statement he issued on Tuesday, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said while he supports prosecuting the corrupt, “I believe it is wrong to use the instruments of state to persecute political opponent.”
“Saraki is one of the most investigated politicians in Nigeria. He has been investigated and prosecuted all the way to the Supreme Court and has prevailed against his accusers. It was expected that that should have been the end of the matter.
“However, the revival of previously investigated cases, and the fact that Dr. Saraki was politically opposed to the administration of General Muhammadu Buhari seems to give strong grounds for objective bystanders to conclude that his current travails have gone beyond prosecution and are now tending towards persecution.
“The laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are made for all and we fought for democracy so that the powers of the state would not be used to suborn tyranny and oppression.”
The former vice-president asked Saraki to stand firm and take solace in the fact that “Nigerians still hold the constitution higher than any other authority.”
“I urge all Nigerians, and especially those tasked with upholding the constitution and the laws of the land, to note that silence in the face of oppression is akin to acquiescence. I, Atiku Abubakar, will always stand up for the constitution and Nigeria,” he said.
