Nigeria Election: Tinubu defends Buhari on death threat to ballot box snatchers

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday refuted the statement credited to President Muhammadu Buhari where he threatened that snatchers of ballot boxes will pay with their lives.

Tinubu, speaking with journalists in Abuja at the end of the APC caucus meeting said that the President was misinterpreted.

He said that the President at the meeting only reinforced that those involved in ballot box snatching will be doing it at the risk of their life.

According to him, “I was in that meeting; the president was just reinforcing the fact that if you are out there snatching ballot boxes, and causing destructions, you are at risk of your own life. Whatever happens to you; no president will give an order that his own citizens should be shot summarily, No! No, its okay, emotions are running high these days. Any individual including myself can be misinterpreted.

“These are not his words; he is a law abiding person and he understands categorically and clearly what rule of law is and the lives of individual citizens that he is in that office to protect. Now, let me run this; he has been fighting Book Haram, kidnappers and all these before this election, did you hear him asking them to be shot and executed summarily?”

“By law we should continue to energise our people; it depends on our resources. Because the Electoral Act allows us to do that; and ask led us to stop campaigning only 24 hours before the actual election. And once you changed the date to Feb. 23, you have given us the opening to campaign and energise.

“If you a garden and you don’t nourish with water, the grass will remain dormant; we don’t want our party to remain dormant.

“This is ability of leadership to convert adversity to opportunity and prosperity and that’s it; that’s what we must do.”