- Says it is a ploy to shield them from investigation
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday kicked against the nomination of the just retired service chiefs as non-career ambassadors by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The ambassador-designates are retired Defense Chief Abayomi Olonisakin, former Army Chief Tukur Buratai, former Navy Chief Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas and former Air Chief Sadique Abubakar.
Their nomination is subject to confirmation by the National Assembly.
The former service chief’s nomination comes nine days after Buhari replaced them – having spearheaded the country’s security agencies for over five years.
But the opposition party in a series of tweets through its confirmed twitter handle @OfficialPDPNig, rejected the nominations and asked the Senate not to confirm them.
The tweets read:
“The @OfficialPDPNig firmly rejects plots by the @MBuhari Presidency and the @OfficialAPCNg to use the decoy of ambassadorial appointments to shield the immediate past service chiefs from investigation over alleged killing of innocent Nigerians and crimes against humanity under their inglorious watch,” PDP wrote.
“The @OfficialPDPNig charges the Senate to eschew all partisan considerations and stand on the side of the people, particularly the victims of atrocious regime of the ex-service chiefs by outrightly rejecting the demand by President @MBuhari to confirm them as ambassadors.
“It is indeed sacrilegious and a horrible assault on the sensibility of Nigerians that the @OfficialAPCNg government is seeking to use ambassadorial appointments as desperate measure to secure diplomatic immunity for the former commanders and protect them from investigation, arrest and possible prosecution by the @IntlCrimCourt for the atrocities committed against innocent Nigerians under their command.
“The @OfficialPDPNig asserts that appointing the former service chiefs as ambassadors would confer diplomatic immunity on them and provide them a route for escape.
“The party further stated that taking such actions at a time the @IntlCrimCourt has declared its readiness to commence full investigation on their alleged involvement in the crime against humanity in our country, appears to further validate the allegations against them.
“Moreover, the frenzy by officials of the @MBuhari Presidency in mounting pressure on the @NGRSenate to confirm such abominable ambassadorial nominations has further raised public apprehensions of a desperate attempt to cover the culpability of some other individuals connected to the @OfficialAPCNg administration.
“It is shocking that instead of allowing the former service chiefs to answer for the alleged crime against humanity under their command including reported cases of extra-judicial execution, killing of unarmed protesters at Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos, rape, illegal arrest as well as detention and torture of innocent Nigerians, the @OfficialAPCNg administration is rather plotting their escape.
“The accused service chiefs must not be allowed to use diplomatic immunity to escape investigation and possible prosecution for the killing of unarmed #EndSARS protester at Lekki Toll gate and other parts of the country as well as the hundreds of civilians reportedly killed by soldiers in the Zaria massacre.
“This is in addition to series of reported military invasions and mass shooting in communities in Borno, Yobe, Rivers, Abia, Anambra among other states across the six geo-political zones of our country, where soldiers reportedly razed communities and massacred unarmed civilians under the command of the ex-service chiefs.
“Our party therefore calls on Nigerians, across board, to unite in rejecting these ambassadorial nominations for the accused former commanders and demand that President @MBuhari should immediately withdraw their nominations from the @NGRSenate
“The least that is expected of President @MBuhari is to direct the former service chiefs to answer for the alleged crimes.”
