‘All eyes on the judiciary’: Destruction of billboards an assault on freedom of speech – Atiku’s aide

Phrank Shaibu, the Special Assistant on Public Communications to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, has described the destruction of billboards with the inscription, “All Eyes on The Judiciary” as clear evidence of President Bola Tinubu’s authoritarianism and assault on freedom of speech.

Shaibu stated this in a statement issued Tuesday while reacting to the directive by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) to pull down all billboards carrying such an inscription across Nigeria.

He said the entire incident reinforced the argument that election cases in court ought to be completed before beneficiaries of questionable elections are inaugurated.

Shaibu stressed that ARCON had already begun acting like the Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LASAA) which had built a reputation of denying Nigerians the right to carry advertisements, which the Lagos State Government deemed “unfavourable”.

He noted that it was ironic that Tinubu claimed to be a democrat and even boasted of funding the June 12 struggle, only for him to transform into an intolerant authoritarian after the election.

Atiku’s aide added that it was hypocritical for the same man to be championing democracy in Niger while at the same time denying Nigerians the most basic form of democracy, which includes freedom of speech and expression.

Shaibu noted: “Tinubu has, once again, put his dictatorial tendency on public display. How has a simple message that says “all eyes are on the judiciary” suddenly become offensive?

“This is a clear case of abuse of office and reinforces the argument that court cases ought to be concluded before inauguration so that beneficiaries of fraudulent elections would not be able to manipulate the system in their favour.

He further wondered how a message like: “All Eyes on the Judiciary” would translate into a threat to society.

Shaibu stressed: “The basic principle of social justice is about the people. The advertisers of the billboards only did what the norm is in civilised climes.

“It was the agents working to impress an interest that read meanings to that innocuous advert. Otherwise, it is a basic principle that eyes must be on the wheel of justice. Eyes must naturally be on the wheel of justice because when justice is delivered, it must be ‘seen’ to have been just!

“In any case, both Tinubu and the APC are before the same court. It is curious how they find this particular message upsetting. Anyway, even if they pull down the billboards, they can never stop all eyes from being on the judiciary at this historic time.”