By Ijeoma Obioma
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Stakeholders in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benúe State have condemned the arrest and continued detention of the lawmaker representing Katsina-Ala East Constituency at the House of Assembly, Jonathan Agbidyeh, by the Department of State Services, (DSS).
Agbidyeh was said to have been arrested on March 18, 2024 on allegation of being behind the killings in Sankera axis of Benue State.
Addressing a press conference in Makurdi, the APC stakeholders also expressed disappointment at an alleged misleading report by an online publication alluding the involvement of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume in the matter.
Fanen Ihyongo who is spokesman of the group, said that the two publications by the medium on March 18, 2024, with the headline:”Sankera Killings: Akume moves to free detained Benue lawmaker from DSS net” and the second report, “Why is SGF Akume protecting Agbidyeh, a man accused of Sankera crimes,” which was published on March 19, 2024 were false.
He said that the publication was full of bias, propaganda and damaging fictions, with the intention to slander the detained Agbidyeh and the SGF, Akume, alleging that it was sponsored by political enemies of Agbidyeh.
Ihyongo while dismissing the report as a calculated attempt to disparage the integrity of the detained lawmaker and the SGF, stressed the need for the release of the lawmaker.
“We are fully aware that Rt Hon. Jonathan Agbidyeh, was on Monday March 18, 2024, around 2: 00pm Nigerian time, arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS). However, the agency has not disclosed their reasons for arresting him.
“The universal declaration of Human Rights, article 11, states that ‘Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.’ The publication of March 19, 2024 by Concord also pronounced Akume guilty, according to its publishers, of “aiding and abetting in crimes.
“We wish to state that Senator Akume and Hon Agbidyeh are our leaders and those reports are intended to tarnish their reputation. Therefore, we give Nigerian Concord Newspaper 24 hours, from now, to retract the mischievous reports and apologise to Sen. George Akume and Rt Hon Jonathan Agbidyeh. We shall not hesitate to instruct our lawyers to institute legal actions, if the newspaper fails to do so.
“It is true that Hon Agbidyeh was at sometime in the past accused of being behind the crimes in Sankera. The arrest followed petitions written against him by his political foes. However, it should be noted that he was tried at the high court in Makurdi and discharged acquitted.
“We wish to inform the DSS and all security agencies as well as the general public that what is happening to Hon Agbidyeh is a frame-up through series of onslaughts orchestrated by his political enemies within and outside the APC. Their curious intention is to remove him from the State House of Assembly.
“It is worthy of mention that it was the same group that stopped Agbidyeh, who is the highest ranking officer in the State Assembly, from becoming the Majority Leader of the House. Reason? Simply because he is a strong loyalist of the SGF,” the stakeholders posited.
