The presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the alleged detention of his son-in-law, Babalele Abdullahi, and his lawyer.
In a tweet on Monday, the former vice president accused the Federal Government of going after them for supporting him.
“My son in law and lawyer have been detained, one for three weeks and the other recently,” he said.
“They are paying the price for supporting me. I urge those now persecuting them to remember that a government’s mandate is to pursue peace and justice for all, and not just those who support them.”
Atiku’s tweet came two days after he raised an alarm of alleged desperate moves to make him concede and congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari, following the February 23 election.
In a statement by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, the PDP candidate said his son-in-law, who is also the finance director of his group of companies, was arrested in Abuja on Saturday.
According to the statement, officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) allegedly invaded the Maitama residence of Babalele in the nation’s capital.
Atiku had noted that while he recognised the constitutional role of the EFCC and other government agencies to carry out investigations, he would not be cowed by any attempt to blackmail him.
He insisted that he would under no circumstance “mortgage the mandate of Nigerians as freely expressed on the 23rd of February 2019.”
However, the EFCC and other relevant agencies have yet to confirm the arrest or react to the allegations by the former vice president.
My son in law and lawyer have been detained, one for 3 weeks and the other recently. They are paying the price for supporting me. I urge those now persecuting them to remember that a government’s mandate is to pursue peace and justice for all, and not just those who support them.
— Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) March 4, 2019
