APC petitions Jonathan, IGP on Dokubo’s threat to deal with the party’s spokesperson

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan and the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, urging their intervention after ex-militant leader, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, threatened violence on Lai Mohammed, the party’s spokesperson.

Mr. Asari-Dokubo said in an exclusive interview last week that he intends to take legal action against Mr. Mohammed for accusing him of being one of two Nigerians who ferried a contentious $9.3 million arms money to South Africa.

Mr. Asari-Dokubo denied the claim and threatened to sue Mr. Mohammed.

In addition, he vowed to “fight him with any means available to me” and to resort to “self-help” if the courts refused him justice.

“After all the South Africa People have given the names of people on the plane and if by next week we go to court and the court is being manipulated not to give me justice, I will resort to self-help,” he said.

“I have the capacity to resort to self-help. I will not give anybody any apology because if a man has mouth to malign me then I can use what I have to fight for myself.”

Asked to clarify on the nature of self-help, the NDPVF leader said, “When the time comes you will know. The man doesn’t have the right to malign me. If a man has the right to use his mouth and hand to malign me and libel people, and any other man has the right to use his hand and any other  means to get justice.”

 In a statement signed by its National Secretary, Mala Buni, Tuesday, the APC described the threats as “totally abhorring, dangerous, unacceptable and uncivilised”.

The party said it took the threat of violence against Mr. Mohammed very seriously and urged the police to question the former militant leader.

“We take the unwarranted threat very seriously, in view of the antecedents of Mr. Asari Dokubo and his propensity to violence, and will definitely hold him personally responsible if anything untoward happens to our National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed,” the statement said.

“Since ours is a country that operates under the rule of law rather than the laws of jungle, we believe anyone who is aggrieved over any issue should resort to the courts to seek redress.

“Where such aggrieved persons decide to take our laws into their own hands, as Mr. Asari Dokubo has threatened, it is an invitation to anarchy.”

The party copied President Jonathan in the letter, as well as the Senate President, David Mark, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, Director General of the State Security Service, Ita Ekpenyong, Secretary to the federal government, Anyim Pius Anyim and the Attorney General, Adoke Mohammed.