The Presidency, on Friday, spoke on the incessant violent protest by the Shi’ites over the continued detention of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.
It warned the group to desist from embarking on violence which it described as needless.
Rather, the Presidency said, the members of the group should await the decision of the court in Kaduna where their leader is currently being tried.
It stated that the issue of El-Zakzaky was before the court in Kaduna and his supporters should focus on his on-going trial instead of causing daily damage, disruptions and public nuisance in Abuja.
“It is wrong to be in court and resort to violence at the same time in order to get justice for anybody accused.
“The destruction of public property in the name of protest is not within the right of this group of Shiite members and no government anywhere would have tolerated a situation where any group would take over public roads in cities as they have done in Abuja and interfere with the rights of other citizens who are prevented from reaching their destinations.
“We imagine a situation where families are taking their loved ones to hospital for emergency treatment and they are held up needlessly by the protesters. No government anywhere in the world would turn a blind eye to this unlawful behaviour.
“As far as this country’s Ministry of Justice is concerned, the case involving El-Zakzaky is no longer in its domain. The Federal Government no more has hands in the matter and to that extent, the government at the centre can be said to be clear of any alleged violations of court orders as being trumpeted everyday,” the Presidency said.
It warned that the rallies and “street dances ostensibly to openly insult the President and other leaders, threatening bloodshed” will lead them to nowhere.
According to the Presidency, President Buhari would not ask the country’s judiciary to abandon due process and set a suspect free.
It said that at the same time, the administration was determined to enforce the decision of the court clearly issued.
The Presidency said the Buhari administration had absolutely no hand in the on-going court case and that the courts were free to determine the bail request and the final outcome.
It said the mentality that the Shi’ite group was above the law and that its own rights were superior to other people’s rights was unacceptable.
It warned that the group could not be provoking other citizens by interfering with their own rights on public roads and disrupting their businesses and call it democratic freedom.
“In democratic traditions, their rights end where the rights of others begin,” the Presidency stated.
It said law abiding citizens must avoid deliberate lawlessness.
It added that it was not within the rights of any group to enter protected public institutions such as the National Assembly by force to attack police and destroy public and private property.
“It is always advisable to embrace dialogue and eschew violence in all our actions so that we can continue to live together in peace.
“We therefore appeal to the Shiite group to stop deliberate provocations that result in violence and fatalities and allow the trial of El-ZakZaky to take its course,” the Presidency said.
