A group, Global Network for Sustainable Development (GNSD), has condemned the trending audio of a leaked phone conversation between the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, and the Presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church, David Oyedepo.
It also called on Nigerians to ignore what it described as a “blackmail” and focus on retrieving the mandate they gave to Obi from those who stole it, saying “the wishes of the people expressed at the poll can never be suppressed.”
At the press conference on Tuesday in Abuja, the convener, Amb. Philip Roberts, said those calling out Peter Obi today are nothing “but a bunch of shameless hypocrites.”
Citing section 37 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, he said “Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to their privacy. Be it in their homes, communications with people by way of letters, telephone or telegraph is protected and guaranteed by the Constitution).”
According to him, “Those who leaked the purported telephone conversation acted in breach of a citizen’s confidentiality and right to privacy, and it is malicious, callous, and criminal.
“For placing Obi’s purported private conversation in the public domain, those behind this despicable plot are liable to criminal prosecution”, he said
Speaking further, he said “We are aware that the All Progressives Congress (APC) orchestrated this blackmail to distract Nigerians from challenging the party’s purchased victory at the fraudulent presidential poll. The purported leaked audio conversation has APC’s blackmail mill written all over it.”
Roberts said, “ the ruling party has reduced politicking in Nigeria to cheap blackmailing and throwing tantrums. It is a pity that issue-based politics have been murdered by psychopathic sycophants and desperate politicians who thrive on blackmail and character assassination.
“It is a shame that a party that claimed to have won the election has resorted to underhand practices and cheap blackmail against a purported loser instead of defending their purchased victory in court.
“We are even more angered by Femi Fani-Kayode’s call to security agencies to ‘declare Obi a master terrorist’ for purportedly describing the election as a religious war”.
“Let us not forget his recent inciting comments that fuelled unprecedented violence against non-Yoruba voters in Lagos state at the just-concluded governorship poll. Fani-Kayode is such a foul-mouthed imp and national disgrace.
“We also want to use this medium to ask the Labour Party Presidential candidate, Peter Obi to press charges against those who leaked and doctored his telephone conversation with Bishop Oyedepo.
“The leaked conversation is an invasion of his privacy. With incidents like this, one may be forced to ask how safe Nigerian’s telephone conversations are.
“We, therefore, call on telecommunication companies in the country to rise to their responsibility of protecting their customers’ privacy,” he said.