Two journalists have written a
letter of protest over what they describe as the "maltreatment and
humiliation" of some Borno State officials when they were summoned to
the State House by Pres. Jonathan on Saturday May 3rd and Sunday May 4th
Sahara Reporters obtained the protest letter signed by Bashir Shuwa and Aliyu Biu. Find it below...
“We the undersigned wish to register our total
protest to the President, and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria. President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe
Jonathan over the degrading manner in which Borno State Government
officials were chastised and reduced to nothing by the Presidency. Continue...
“Last week Friday, on May 2nd, 2014, the President appeared to
have cause to invite key Borno State Government officials together with
some Federal Government functionaries to the Presidential Villa over the
abduction of the more than two hundred school girls at the Government
Girls Secondary School Chibok, Borno State three weeks ago.
“Those invited included His Excellency, the Executive Governor of
Borno State, the Honourable Kashim Shettima, the State Commissioner of
Education, Alhaji Inuwa Kubo, the State Commissioner of Police, and the
State Director of the Department of State Security Services. Others are,
the Principal of Government Girls Secondary School Chibok, the Chairman
of the Chibok Local Government Council, and the Division Police Officer
of Chibok, as well as the Chief Security Officer of the school.
“Upon their arrival at the Presidential Villa, on Saturday, May
3rd, 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan personally interrogated these key
officials, from
9 PM to 2 AM,
as if all the official information relayed to him by his security
apparatus in Borno, was meaningless, unreliable and suspicious.
“At the end of interrogation, President Goodluck Jonathan handed
over these officials to the Inspector General of Police, with the clear
instructions to do his job. These officials were then driven to the
Force Headquarters where they were detained, and made to make written
statements on how the girls were abducted, and later, released on bail
on self recognition, as if they were directly, or indirectly,
responsible for the abduction of their own children.
“The following Sunday, May 4th, 2014, they were again taken to the Villa at
5 PM
for further interrogation, and this time by the First Lady, Dame
Patience Jonathan. While at the Villa, they remained standing for four
hours, after which, they were ushered into the First Lady’s chambers. It
was there where they were treated to verbal assaults, as to the
veracity of their claims on how the school-girls were abducted, to the
admiration of her cheer leaders, including the president of market women
association, and Ms. Onyeka Onwenu, as well as some members of the
Northern Governors Wives Association, who were present.
“One would have expected that the First Lady would have
sympathized with these government officials for the traumatic events
they went through, but unfortunately, they were subjected to all sorts
of embarrassing humiliation. The sum total of the First Lady’s
vituperations appeared to be directed toward negativity, and
substituting fact with fiction, in order to give a dog a bad name in
order to hang it. Also there were attempts made to play on religious
sentiments, an attempt that failed woefully, having realized that the
girls abducted came from various religious groups.
“As if that was not enough, the First Lady made a number of
threatening remarks, including the order to security officials to arrest
some women protesters, and shouting down on the State Director of State
Security Services, and other officials, whom she allegedly labeled as
“Boko Haram sympathizers.” She also ordered all of the officials to
resign their appointments forthwith, on their return to their respective
duty posts.
“This is highly unfortunate, and totally unacceptable, because the
1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended,) has
not mentioned, or given any clearly defined responsibility, or role, or
power to First Ladies to issue such directives. Nor is there any
constitutional amendment to the First Lady to exercise the powers of the
State Chief, or executive, directly, or indirectly, or otherwise in
matters of governance. The Nigerian First Ladies are enjoying the
current privileges courtesy of their husbands’ position.
“This official highhandedness exhibited by Dame Patience Jonathan,
is primitive and unconstitutional, and therefore totally unacceptable. Similarly,
the president (will) also need to clarify the grounds on which he
ordered the detention and interrogation of the key government officials
from Borno State, who were equally victims of the insurgency in Borno
State by the Boko Haram.
“In view of the foregoing, we call on the International Community
to ask President Goodluck Jonathan to explain to the world why he
appeared to have doubts, as the security information sent to him by his
own security apparatus, and (had) decided to descend on Borno State
Government Officials.
“If he has any doubt on such reports, are the Borno State
Government Officials who did [not issue] these official security reports
going to be held responsible and asked to clarify what they have not
written and reported? To us the sum total action of the presidency
tantamount to blaming the victim, hence the purpose of our protest.
The
office of President Goodluck Jonathan has yet to respond publicly to
the letter written by the two journalists.
