By Ogochukwu Isioma
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Prince John Mayaki, has called for the prosecution of an alleged supporter of Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi who was thrown out of a flight by airport security after attempting to hinder take-off with an “unseemly protest” of the presidential election results and APC’s Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s victory.
Recall that the yet-to-be-identified middle-aged man was seen in a viral video clip inside an Abuja — Lagos bound Ibom Air flight before take-off yelling and urging other ‘Obidients’ on the flight to join him and protest Tinubu’s impending swearing-in as the country’s next president on May 29.
Mayaki, who responded to the incident via a statement in Abuja on Saturday, described it as a “disturbing culmination of weeks of unchecked disinformation and radicalization of naive supporters by a group committed to subverting the country’s democracy and sparking off violent conflict to prevent the peaceful transition of power.”
He urged security agencies to step-up their response to the threat by apprehending and legally charging these “fascists and their backers”, while also warning the Nigeria Broadcast Commission (NBC) to play its part by heavily sanctioning platforms permitting the spread of lies and negative propaganda designed to undermine the legitimacy of the presidential election.
“This is what you get when sore losers are given a free rein to radicalize their naive and exuberant supporters with irresponsible comments on national television, as well as other media outlets, which undermine the outcome of the electoral contest and boldly call for the cancellation of the scheduled swearing-in,” Mayaki said.
“We are now treading dangerous waters in this country, such that Peter Obi’s errant mob, who account for a tiny minority and who credibly lost the February contest, are refusing to accept the outcome, choosing instead to burn down the country and hold the majority to ransom.
“For days since the conclusion of the election, these individuals and their foreign backers have held meetings where they openly planned subversive and violent actions, including the blocking of major highways and grounding of international airports, all of which are protected assets due to their national importance and what they symbolize.
“Even the Vice Presidential candidate of the party who ought to sue for calm and insist on the legal course of action, which is the filing of the petition at the Tribunal, went on television to stir and incite, denying the outcome of the polls as announced by INEC, and announcing his own result.
“No action was brought against him by those with the responsibility to do so and the media station that aired his dangerous lies without the necessary check was merely slapped on the wrist with a fine I’m sure they paid the following day.
“This is not how to protect our democracy and sustain our globally praised streak of peaceful transition of power since 1999. Security agencies must do more than just issue statements. They must arrest and prosecute these fascists and those behind the veil sponsoring their illegal and anti-democratic missions.
“The NBC, too, must play its regulatory role in a far more serious fashion by taking appropriate measures to curb the dangerous spread of lies and propaganda about the presidential contest. No individual should feel so emboldened to go on national media to deny the fact that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the President-Elect. Platforms enabling such dangerous comments should be heavily fined so they learn to take their social responsibility obligation seriously.”
Mayaki also urged the Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, and other well-meaning Nigerians to condemn the dangerous actions before it is too late, warning that the destruction of the country’s democracy, which is premised on respect for elections and their outcome, is not in anyone’s interest.
