The All Progressives Congress (APC) has justified the arrest of Omoyele Sowore, convener of #RevolutionNow, saying Nigeria is not a banana republic.
The Department of State Services (DSS) had arrested Sowore on Saturday over his call for a protest against “bad governance in Nigeria”.
In a statement by Lanre Issa-Onilu, national publicity secretary of the APC, the ruling party said the arrest of Sowore should be seen as a “legal and timely action” by security agencies to protect the country against actions that threaten its collective peace and safety.
The party also accused Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the “patron of unpatriotic elements” who would like to bring own the country.
“The All Progressives Congress (APC) calls on Nigerians to reject the toxic messages and criminal antics of some individuals and partisans who have embarked on a campaign of calumny against the government and are calling for a forceful takeover of government. They are cowards and enemies of Nigeria,” APC said.
“Predictably, some desperate individuals, sore losers, and their sympathisers are acting in vain trying to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians. Of course, the disgruntled presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alh. Atiku Abubakar is expectedly the patron and cheerleader of the unpatriotic elements who would rather bring our country down for being rejected at the polls.
“The desperate attempt to politicise a legitimate action by the security agencies and futile effort to spread falsehood to create chaos in the country are clearly irresponsible actions.
“We call on Nigerians to look at the issue of Sowore’s arrest dispassionately devoid of the skewed narratives and sentiments being propagated by these individuals. Sowore arrived the country recently and openly threatened a revolution against a constitutionally recognised and legitimate government.