The Coalition of United Political Parties, or CUPP, has expressed alarm over alleged plots by security agencies and Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike to arrest Hon. Ugochinyere Michael Ikeagwuonu, a lawmaker representing Ideato Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
Following a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, the Coalition sent a statement to reporters.
Comrade Mark Adebayo, the coalition’s co-spokesman, and CUPP Secretary-General Peter Ameh both called the purported scheme a serious threat to democracy. They called it a “clandestine scheme to defame, tarnish, and stifle the voice of one of Nigeria’s most vocal and incorruptible opposition leaders.”
CUPP further claimed that the pro-Wike group had been preparing fictitious witnesses to give false testimony against Ugochinyere in Abuja for more than six weeks, working with complicit security services.
“This is a desperate, low-budget Nollywood production whose purpose has already failed,” the Coalition said in a strongly worded statement. They emphasized that “Ikenga’s commitment to speaking truth to power is God-given and cannot be silenced by intimidation, blackmail, or false allegations.”
In an effort to oppose the purported scheme, the coalition also declared plans for nationwide demonstrations.
But as of the time this article was filed, neither Nigerian security agencies nor Wike’s spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, had addressed the accusations made by CUPP.
According to reports, Ugochinyere has been critical of Wike, especially in relation to his involvement in the current crisis inside the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the opposition party.
