Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has said the recent investigation of ex-Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was becoming a persecution.
He stated this on Tuesday in a statement entitled “Bukola Saraki: Silence In The Face of Tyranny Is Acquiescence.”
Saraki was recently accused by the EFCC of taking N12 billion from the treasury of the Kwara State government while he was governor of the state between 2003 and 2011.
The commission said the money was withdrawn in cash.
Atiku said there was a huge difference between prosecution and persecution, stressing that it was wrong to use the instruments of state to persecute political opponents.
According to him, Saraki is one of the most investigated politicians in Nigeria, adding: “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 Saraki was politically opposed to the administration of 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,” he said.
He, therefore, urged Saraki to stand firm and take solace in the fact that Nigerians still hold the constitution higher than any other authority. He also admonished Nigerians, 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.
