The arrest and grilling of thirteen members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ovia North East Local Government over their suspected criminal activities saw the party leadership crying wolf where there was really none. The PDP chairman in Edo State, Chief Dan Orbih, had at that time threatened to mobilize members of the party to stage a protest over the arrest of its members alleged to be involved in the criminal activities.
The PDP members were later charged to court for going against the law as Edo State was not a banana republic or lawless society where citizens would block top government official on duty by the highway and attack him and his colleagues just because the suspects were hired by the opposition political party with huge sums of money to perpetrate such crime.
As far as our grand norm or constitution is concerned, there is no exemption of anyone, irrespective of how highly placed. Nobody has the right to attack a fellow citizen and get away with it. This is not part of human rights or democracy for you to deliberately inflict bodily harm on someone else. The government officials were said to be carrying poles to extend electricity to some villages in Ovia North East but the PDP who had ten years opportunity to provide electricity to the villages, but failed to do so arranged some boys to block the vehicle. They forced the driver to stop, attacked a serving Commissioner and boasted to him that nothing will happen. That was barbaric and there is no responsible government anywhere in the world that would fold its hands and watch such lawlessness stand otherwise, anarchy would in no distant time remain the order of the day. Right thinking citizens have been wondering what would have been the situation if the Commissioner resulted to reprisal attack. Anarchy certainly.
It was, therefore, ridiculous for PDP chieftains in Edo State who perpetrated the crime to resort to cheap blackmail to curry favour from unsuspecting members of the public. But the tricks and antecedents of the PDP as a party are well known to Edo people.
Again, as the state inched towards the September Governorship election, there were security reports that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State had hired mercenaries to come to Edo State and unleash mayhem during the eelier planned September 10 governorship election. They were alleged to be working in connivance with some PDP leaders and thugs in the state.
On the strength of such security reports, the Police decided to invite some of the suspects in the state for interrogation. The Edo state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), knowing their evil plots turned full circle to call on its members to resist arrest by policemen.
The party also called on the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to call his men to order, so there would be no breakdown of law and order. The same Edo PDP also said its members should not be blamed if there is a breakdown of peace, in the state, alleging intimidation of its members.
The PDP in Edo state equally alleged that they uncovered plots by Governor Adams Oshiomhole to use policemen attached to him to intimidate its members. The question here is: how did the PDP uncover the plot and who were their informants and where is the evidence of their informants? Whenever the PDP is making some spurious allegations, it was used to parading some fake documents. But even in this case, it failed to tender anything which means that they were only crying wolf where there is none.
It is obvious that such cry was a propaganda strategy to sway pity from unsuspecting members of the public because of elections. It is the very height of desperation of a party notorious in the country for non-performance.
When the President Muhammadu Buhari government assumed office and started going after corrupt people, the PDP was crying wolf. Its Publicity Secretary Chief Olisah Metuh was in the fore launching a campaign of calumny against the APC government. But on the part of government, it operated with a clear conscience which fears no accusation.
As the arrests and prosecutions progressed, the shame became that of Olisa Metuh and his sleaze-infested PDP as the arrested men were on a daily basis revealing how much they received from the office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) from the $2billion they stole and what they did with the huge sums of Nigerian tax payers money. Many of them admitted to receiving huge sums of money from the embattled former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.
It was not long in the day when Olisah Metuh himself was arrested for collecting the sum of over N400million from the public till. He cried persecution and denied ever receiving any money. Later, he claimed the money he received was for election and not a loot. But as he stayed longer in prison custody and suddenly became grey- bearded over time, he knew he was being held for the right reasons and started confession of how much he stole and assured he was going to pay back the money to government, an amount he has since paid and has kept quiet ever since.
It is the same mentality that the Edo PDP is resorting to again in the rescheduled governorship election. But Dan Orgih and his ilk must refrain from false alarm and focus on campaigns. He should ensure that PDP members do not resort to criminality, otherwise they would be arrested and prosecuted according to the law. Edo PDP must know that our Criminal Justice system is not a respecter of any individual or political party. Dan Orbih must also know that raising false alarm is an offence and he should encourage all suspected criminals within the PDP fold to turn themselves in to answer for their offenses. Otherwise, the long arm of the law is at liberty to get them anywhere to face the music, any time, any day.
• Mr. Dan Owegie is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo State.
