Nigerian Politicians Fear Western Sanctions More Than Local Laws, Says Senator Sani

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator Shehu Sani on Sunday said Nigerian politicians fear western sanctions more than the local laws.

He stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics on the heels of the visit of the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

“If you look at the mentality, thinking or psychology of Nigerian political class, they fear that (foreign sanctions) more than the laws of the land because they believe that as long as you belong to the circle of power, you can do anything and get away with it,” Sani said.

“We have had cases of people engaging in all sorts of violence during elections, as long as they are on the side of power, they go scout free.”

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Sani’s comment came a few days after Blinken had during his two-day official visit to Nigeria said the report by the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for the Victims of #EndSARS protest was critical and the United States was awaiting the actions which would be taken afterward.

And according to Shehu, Blinken’s message to the country is very clear as the United States has the responsibility to intervene once a government uses security agencies to oppress its citizens.

While noting previous killings witnessed in other parts of the country, the PDP chieftain explained that what made the #EndSARS incident unique is that the protesters came out peacefully, raising the national flag.

Shehu added, “What made this very distinct is the fact that ordinary citizens of this country came out and there was the application of force to suppress that protest.

“There were a lot of controversies whether actually there was a massacre or not. But the report that came out from that panel clearly stated that massacre took place.”

The Lagos Panel had on November 15 concluded that the Nigerian Army shot and killed unarmed protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020.

Shortly after, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu set up a four-member committee led by Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN) to raise a White Paper on the reports submitted by the panel.