HOW MEN OF SSS RESORTS TO GESTAPO TACTICS BY ROUNDING UP PEOPLE DEMANDING FOR CHANGE USING SOCIAL MEDIA, BULK SMS AND EMAIL CAMPAIGNS
In a scary development yesterday, one of my colleagues and a very active internet marketer who has been providing SMS numbers and email numbers sourced from the internet, to supporters of General Muhammadu Buhari was arrested, with handcuffs, by 3 car loads of fierce looking gun-wielding SSS gunmen.

These gun totting men from SSS broke into an ongoing digital marketing training workshop being organized by Mr. Stephen Akintayo, a digital marketer and bulk sms seller, and hauled him away in handcuffs to the SSS head office in Shangisha, on ‘orders from the presidency’ according to the arresting officer.

When I got the news, I quickly dispatched some attorneys from my law firm to the SSS office to find out what happened. When they got to the scene to ask for the reasons why our client was being detained, we were refused audience with him throughout the day, on the excuse that the officers who ordered his arrest were not around. On further insistent enquiries, they said they were operating on orders from Abuja to round up people disseminating Jonathan must go messages on SMS and emails.

My colleague ended up being detained overnight at the SSS Headquarters for allegedly providing emails or sms numbers that were used for anti-Jonathan messages

The officer disclosed that several people have also been arrested for the same offense, and some of them mentioned Mr. Akintayo as the man who provided them with emails and sms numbers which they used to send the CHANGE messages explaining to people why they should vote out Jonathan during March 28 elections. We waited in vain all through Tuesday with no audience.

Finally my lawyer was allowed to see Mr. Akintayo the next day, on Wednesday and he was eventually released on bail though no formal charges had been levelled against him, and he was asked to report back on Friday as they ‘continue’ their investigations.

This arbitrary arrest of people for suspected pro-Buhari inclinations for daring to use their phone sms and emails to campaign for their candidate of choice is a worrisome development and we condemn it in its totality. We continue to maintain that we have every right as Nigerians to canvass support for whoever we support in a democratic setting.

In any case, we believe that if the government had done its job well in the last 6 years, it would not have had to worry about so many people asking for CHANGE.

We must also point out that Nigeria is yet to enact any laws as to who can send messages by sms to other people, or have any legal restrictions to the amount of sms or emails anyone can send in Nigeria.

Unlike other nations with strategic direction and progressive policies on digital marketing, Nigeria is yet to catch up to the exploding social media phenomenon. We don’t have laws on internet marketing and we don’t have any laws against spamming or mass mailings yet. WE DON’T HAVE ANTI-SPAM LAWS IN THE COUNTRY AS WE SPEAK and Presiden Jonathan should take responsiblity for this laxity and not resort to punishing young people for taking advantage of a situation that is not illegal.

So, it amounts to jungle justice for Jonathan’s men in SSS Uniform to go around rounding up Nigerians who are exercising their legitimate rights to free speech, and free association, by using their phones to send sms and their email accounts to send political messages, which unlike the pronouncements of the 1st lady, are not inciting any violence, but simply reminding Nigerians of the abysmal records of their govt.

Unless President Jonathan has passed a secret law when we were not looking, the last time we checked, any Nigerian is free to express his dissatisfaction against the government in a democratic setting, in exercise of the fundamental rights GUARANTEED under our constitution. It is therefore very worrisome that our government has gone so desperate as to start silencing people for expressing their hearts. It must also be noted that millions of anti Buhari messages are being sent to peoples’ phones everyday too by supporters and hirelings of the Jonathan Government. Yet, NOBODY sending out any supporting messages for President Jonathan has been arrested so far for violating a non-existing law for which my friends, colleagues and clients have been arrested.

We are using this opportunity to let all Nigerians know that this country is gradually descending to a Gestapo State though we are in a civilian government. It is actually ironic that those who have been accusing a former military ruler of indiscriminate arrest during a military regime, are now doing the same thing openly in a democratic setting…

We are also letting all Nigerians know that the SSS people, claiming to operate on order from Abuja, have warned us that us and our people will be arrested without bail, should we refuse to stop posting social media messages and SMS messages against the government. We have replied them that we will not stop, and we will not let our fundamental human rights be abridged without a fight. We definitely do not intend to stop our campaign against a government that has mortgaged the lives of its citizens these last four years with lack of direction in many areas. We most humbly ask all Nigerians who believe in democracy, regardless of their political persuasions, to stand with us to condemn this act of lawlessness by officers under the Jonathan government

In readiness from the worst from the fascist officers of the SSS who may make a run at us in the crucial days leading to the 2015 elections, we have put structures in place to ensure Nigerians are updated in real time of further developments.

We believe in one Nigeria. We believe in democratic Nigeria and we believe in a free and fair elect ions after a free and fair campaign period.

Source:http://hardtalknaija.com/social-media-arrest/

Goodluck "Gbagbo" Jonathan. Mind you don't end up like Laurent with this sit-tight desperation.

Issue

Look at the man idiots said granted us unlimited freedom.

Like someone very succinctly said yesterday:

[size=17]APC is a Lie[/size]

Believe this and believe anything

APC can lie

why cant this jonathan just accept the wish of the people without causing problem for himself at last? He has been embarrassing himself and muddling the name of the country. I think the man needs to be cautioned before he will end up worst like Gbagbo. The whole world is by every minutes watching him with all sots of dishonest manners. This is sad for him and him alone!!!

Sai GENERAL Akintunde MOHAMMADU okechukwu BUHARI

Vote #CHANGE

Stone any one who chant Change-PDP

Crush and kill any one who shouts APC-PDP

Arrest anyone who sms Change-PDP

Don't vote APC because they are a christian party-PDP

Spill blood if necessary-PDP

Do we honestly want this government and party for the next 4yrs again?

It's called desperation. And he'll fail very soon.

Sai Buhari

Gbawe:
Goodluck "Gbagbo" Jonathan. Mind you don't end up like Laurent with this sit-tight desperation.

idiotic old fool. Gej will be ur president till 2019, u can go and die.

vanilson:
why cant this jonathan just accept the wish of the people without causing problem for himself at last? He has been embarrassing himself and muddling the name of the country. I think the man needs to be cautioned before he will end up worst like Gbagbo. The whole world is by every minutes watching him with all sots of dishonest manners. This is sad for him and him alone!!!

Sai GENERAL Akintunde MOHAMMADU okechukwu BUHARI

Vote #CHANGE

a terorrist, semi illiterate can never rule us. The early u acept that the better for u.

And some blockheads will come here and ask for the source!