The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, slammed the factional National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Tanimu Turaki, for calling on US President Donald Trump to intervene in Nigerian politics.
The move came after police sealed off the PDP’s national secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday due to the party’s violent leadership feud.
While receiving board members of the South-South Development Commission, led by its chairman, Chibudom Nwuche, at his office on Wednesday, Wike stated that Turaki’s statements posed a threat to national security and accused his PDP faction of ignoring court rulings, which he described as an act of impunity.
Turaki urged Trump and other advanced democracies to “save Nigeria’s democracy” after a clash between different PDP groups at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday.
Turaki claimed that Nigeria’s democracy was under threat, in addition to suspected Christian genocide.
However, speaking on Wednesday, Wike claimed Turaki should have been questioned by security officials.
He said, “Look at a threat to national security. You are calling Trump to come and save your democracy when you cannot obey a simple court judgment. Simple court judgment: don’t do this until you have done this. Now you are turning it around against a government. What is their business? You cannot keep your house in order; you are blaming an outsider for not keeping your house in order. Who does that?”
The former governor of Rivers State further questioned Turaki’s claim of genocide and noted that security agencies had not investigated the matter.
“You come out and make a statement on national television to say, ‘Look, it is not only killing—genocide against Christians. And where are the security agencies? For somebody to make such a statement, you won’t invite them to come and give facts. But if it is Wike—kill him!” he added.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, police blocked off the PDP national secretariat at Abuja’s Wadata Plaza.
Officers erected a barbed-wire barrier across the main entrance, claiming the order came “from above” but declining to provide further information.
Attempts to contact the FCT Police Command spokesperson were fruitless.
The secretariat was sealed after a day of high tensions at the venue due to a leadership dispute between opposing PDP groups.
On Tuesday, confusion arose when two conflicting notices for a National Executive Committee meeting were issued: one by ousted National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu and the other by Turaki.
Each party claimed legitimacy, causing a standoff.
Following the encounter, Turaki, supported by governors Seyi Makinde and Bala Mohammed, accused Wike of inciting the turmoil and urged international attention to what he saw as a threat to Nigeria’s democratic process.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
