Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) from the south-west have called on people in the region to vote out President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.
Addressing journalists during a protest at the entrance of the presidential villa in Abuja on Wednesday, Muftau Zakariya, south-west coordinator of the group, said the president has no “moral justification” to remain in office beyond 2019.
The group accused Buhari of being a dictator, saying he has no regard for the rule of law.
The group has staged series of protest to demand the release of Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, its spiritual leader, who has been in custody since 2015 despite a court order granting him bail.
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“We came to protest today in Abuja to seek the release of our leader and convince government to obey court order,” he said.
“The court has ordered that El-Zakzaky should be released and be paid N50million as damages because of the illegal detention he has been subjected to, but the government has refused to obey that order. I am especially using this opportunity to talk to my fellow Yoruba men. No Yoruba man that is freely born should vote for Buhari.
“Somebody that kills northerners and elites, who shot a Muslim scholar, jailed and refused to give him bail. Let me tell you the equivalent of what Buhari has done, is like somebody catching Pastor Adeboye at Redeemed Christian Church of God, shooting him and jailing him.”
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Zakariya said the president showed he had less regard for the rule of law when he said national interest will not be sacrificed at the expense of the rule of law.
He alleged that those who vote for Buhari want the killings in the country to continue.
“If a president can go to the Nigerian Bar Association and tell them that he will not obey the rule of law, this shows you how shallow-minded this man is. This is the man that swore an oath on the Quran to obey the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.
“I am using this avenue to appeal to Nigerians, anybody who votes for Buhari is voting for somebody that does not believe in the rule of law; anybody that votes for Buhari is voting for somebody that believes that killings should continue in Benue, Zamfara and other parts of the country.
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“Do you think he cares when people die? That is why we should just give him red card and send him back to Daura and start farming.”
The protesters were prevented from gaining entry into the presidential villa.
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