By Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has vowed that nobody can stop the party from approaching the court to reclaim its ‘stolen’ mandate.
The National Peace Committee led by former military Head of State, Gen. Abdulasalami Abubakar (Chairman), John Cardinal Onaiyekan and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, had on Thursday met with the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, his Vice Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, Senate President and Director General of PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Sen. Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus.
However, Secondus while addressing a press conference Friday tagged, ‘APC Body Bag Election’ in continuation of its update on last Saturday’s presidential election, said the party had enough evidence to approach the court.
He added that the party cannot forgo approaching the court based on the submission of the international observers which he said had been threatened before the election and that their observation cannot be relied on.
According to him, “When All Progressives Congress, APC, leaders were threatening foreign election monitors with returning to their country in body bags we didn’t know that they had designed the same thing for Nigerians.
“As at the last count, over 50 Nigerians have lost their lives since last Saturday, most of them from the South South region where a division of the army with their commander were turned on the people on Election Day.”
Secondus noted that as part of their strategy to ensure that PDP was distracted from pursuing its stolen mandate, Buhari’s regime had decided to intensify their intimidation and strangulation of the opposition.
He noted that some prominent members of the opposition had been put on surveillance and their names listed to be stopped from traveling out of the country.
On the meeting with the Peace Committee, Secondus noted; “There was no condition. Initially, we were not to talk with them because a decision had been taken to go to court. But because of the personalities involved, we said ok, let’s just talk. It was no condition. There was no request of any condition.”
“We will go to court. Nobody will stop us from going to court and bring all of the facts both the international observers and some people have not seen. We will unearth them at the courts and I believe that justice will be done at the courts.
“Because if we continue to suppress injustice and go sentimental, the country will continue to pile up gun powder that will explode one day. So much injustice have been done in this country and if we allow it and it continues to pile, nobody knows what will happen.”
The national chairman said that was why the party decided as good citizens and law-abiding and people who believe in rule of law to challenge the election in the court of law.
Secondus stressed that the party would not be depending on the comments of observers that were threatened.
He stressed, “They were threatened and so, what do you expect them to say? They have to go home with their lives. They were threatened and silenced.”
“We made it clear that unless the injustices were addressed, there is no room for peace. It is only when you address the injustice that you can now sit down for peace.
“So, whatever interpretation that was done by anybody, let it be clear to anybody that we did not give condition, they did not request for it, it was like , look, state what really happened in the election and we told them how the military took over the election and conducted the election in favour of APC,” Secondus stressed.
