A former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has described the Executive Order 6, which President Muhammadu Buhari said on Saturday will now be fully implemented, as targeted at opposition politicians.
Fani-Kayode, in a statement made available to The Eagle Online, said the ban from travelling of those being investigated was a descent into fascism.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said in a statement on Saturday that Buhari had instructed the Nigeria Immigration Services and other security agencies to prevent those being investigated for alleged corrupt practices from travelling outside the country and selling their assets worth over N50 million.
Fani-Kayode said of the development: “The banning of 50 prominent Nigerians who are all members of the opposition from travelling out of the country by Buhari’s Executive Order and the power to confiscate their assets even though they have not been empowered to do so by a court of law or convicted of any offence is utterly shameful and condemnable.
“It is nothing less than a descent into fascism and a violation of the fundamental human rights and civil liberties of the individuals that have been directly affected and the Nigerian people. It is also a usurpation of the role of the Judiciary.
“Buhari is so desperate to remain in power that he has now resorted to attempting to muscle and intimidate the opposition.
“He forgets that he is not God and that he will soon leave power.
“I condemn his lawless and desperate ways in the strongest terms.
“Only dictators behave in this way and Buhari has proved to be the most brutal and callous of them all in the history of our nation.
“I challenge him to do his worse and enjoy the short time that he has left in office.
“Sadists never last.
“Soon it will all be over and he will account for his evil ways and brought to justice.”