Stop Police Harassment, Group Tells Imo APP Senatorial Candidate

A pro-democracy group, Civic Action for Democracy (CAD), has called on the senatorial candidate of the Action Peoples Party (APP) for Imo East, Chief Chima Amadi, to stop political intolerance and stop hounding citizens who question his claims and style.

Executive Director of CAD, Mazi Franklin Ngoforo, made the call at a press conference in Owerri, following a court order restraining the Nigeria Police from arresting the Special Adviser to Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State on Electronic and Creative Media, Collins Opuruozor, for criticising Amadi.

According to Ngoforo, CAD as a group would stand with every citizen whose democratic rights are threatened by political intolerance, emphasizing that the electorate must be free to speak, question, organise, and choose their leaders without fear in Imo State.

He criticised Amadi for attempting to hound Opuruozor with arrest and harassment using the Police, maintaining that the development was a deserved defeat for the crude politics of intimidation and a clear reminder that no petty tyrant’s ambition is greater than the fundamental rights of the people.
Furthermore, Ngoforo commended the judiciary for protecting democratic civilization in Imo State “by ensuring that those who speak up are protected from harm”, adding that they celebrate the restraining order on the Police and Amadi.
Justice Emeka Orafu of the Oru Judicial Division in Mgbidi had last week granted an order restraining the Police, the Inspector General of Police, Chief Amadi, and six others from further arrest, threat to arrest, harassment, intimidation, invitation, torture, or laying ambush for Collins Opuruozor pending the determination of the substantive application.

Ngoforo pointed out a contradiction in Amadi’s actions, arguing that the candidate had enjoyed the freedom to campaign throughout the state and even criticise Governor Hope Uzodimma’s governance, yet could not tolerate Opuruozor’s criticisms about his lifestyle and funding.

Ngoforo said, “We ask, if Amadi cannot withstand the questions of one man, how does he intend to withstand the demands for accountability from the entire Owerri zone or Imo State? You can see that this episode has exposed everything Owerri people need to know about this man. He is dictatorial, despotic, cruel, primitive, and will resort to state institutions and the most ancient oppressive tactics to deal with his political adversaries if by mistake power is given to him. Imo State will never be allowed to become a hunting ground for any political predator”.

Meanwhile, in his reaction, Opuruozor stated that it was a moral struggle to save the Imo State democratic space from emerging anti-people, anti-Imo, and anti-democratic forces represented by Chief Amadi. He noted that the legislature is the ultimate symbol of democracy and that those seeking seats in the red chamber must possess rich democratic credentials.