2019: "The Rising Spate of Violence on Members of the Opposition is a Call for Concern; Buhari and His APC Junta Willing to Sacrifice Lives to Latch onto Power"....UMBRELLA FORCE

With the reported cases of open harassment and intimidation on perceived members of the opposition and especially now that the 2019 General Election fast approaching, a group, under the aegis of Umbrella Force, has come out to condemn the spate of violence in the northern states of Nigeria.

Umbrella Force, a pro democracy group strongly opposed to violence in the political space, has issued a statement to declare its stance and also, call on the Federal Government, especially President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately, rein in his supporters who are posing serious threats to other aspirants.

The Umbrella Force, in its statement signed by Kelvin Odanz, Deputy Director, Media and Publicity, noted that, "the rising spate of violence on members of the opposition is a call for concern; Buhari and his APC junta willing to sacrifice lives to latch onto power".

According to the statement, a copy which was made available to the media, it said;

"In the early hours of Friday, 7th August, 2018, news of the gruesome murder of a PDP chairman in Adamawa state simmered into the news media. He was allegedly beheaded by Fulani herdsmen (the President's kinsmen) and the murderers ran away with his head in an act that has left the whole nation dumbstruck".

"A day prior, groups of Fulani touts (again the President's kinsmen) caused unrest at the Wadata house as a PDP Presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, was submitting his nomination form".

"They disrupted the activities at the secretariat by chanting "SAI BABA", harassing anyone on sight with clubs, matchets and stones until police dispersed them by shooting into the air".

The Umbrella Force, a pro democracy group, is calling the attention of Nigerians, stakeholders and the international community to a pattern of violence that has come to define President Buhari's politics and that poses a threat to a free and fair election in 2019. Fulani herdsmen, since Buhari's presidency, have incessantly terrorised defenseless Nigerians, especially in opposition states and local governments. The intensity and pattern has become too obvious to be ignored and has all the undercurrent of a brutal, murderous political strategy as the failure looms large for APC at the polls.

"It is important to note that Muhammadu Buhari is the common denominator in all the post-election violence that has taken place since Nigeria's return to democracy".

"As Nigerians go to the polls to make a bold statement, death squads enabled by incompetence and deliberate oversight, are on a rampage", the Umbrella Force noted.

"Nigeria's democracy is in a jeopardy; lives and properties are increasingly being sacrificed on a platter. Leaving the fate of Nigeria in the hands of Buhari will be a fatal mistake. The responsibility of saving Nigeria is a matter of urgency", the statement concluded.