Buhari never ordered security agencies to shoot Nigerians – Tinubu

Bola Tinubu

National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has said President Muhammadu Buhari was misunderstood when he said that the military and police would deal “ruthlessly” with ballot box snatchers.

Tinubu said, after the APC caucus meeting in Abuja, that the president never ordered security operatives to shoot at Nigerians.

“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 Boko Haram, kidnappers and all these before this election, did you hear him asking them to be shot and executed summarily?” Tinubu asked.

He reaffirmed the party’s stance on continuing with campaigns despite INEC’s order for campaign window to remain closed.

“By law, we should continue to energise our people. It depends on our resources because the Electoral Act allows us to do that and has led us to stop campaigning only 24 hours before the actual election. And once you changed the date to February 23, you have given us the opening to campaign and energise,” Tinubu said.