Some Nigerians stormed the Abuja House, London, on Tuesday to protest against President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election bid.
Buhari declared his second term bid on Monday and headed to the UK afterwards.
According to NAN, sources in the presidency blamed the protest on alleged looters and corrupt elements.
“Barely 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari declared his intention to contest for another term in office as president of Nigeria, the camps of alleged looters and corrupt elements within and outside the country have been jolted,” a source said.
“This has forced them to push panic buttons including renting a motley crowd of professional demonstrators to protest against the President on his arrival into the United Kingdom.”
According to another source in Aso Villa, extremely corrupt Nigerians who are custodians of slush funds stolen from Nigeria, and hiding in UK or are resident cronies of such elements, have colluded to form a league of protesters.
The source maintained that the protesters’ singular aim was to distract and disorganise the scheduled state visit of the president to England.
Buhari is billed to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Theresa May and other dignitaries during his stay.
“Esteemed Nigerians home and abroad, friends and business investors in Nigeria, should please see through the veil of the motive behind the Abuja House, Kensington London demonstration,” the source said.
“It was an orchestrated act of desperation and a ploy to blackmail and hoodwink the President from concentrating on his anti corruption campaign , which is fast gaining grounds locally and internationally.
“This unpatriotic act is not unconnected to the Federal government policies to name and shame corrupt citizens and looters; to collate database of Nigerians with homes in UK who are not paying the right taxes, and the hot drive to prosecute all financial defaulters through bilateral and multilateral means.”
According to the source, it is obvious that this is a clear cut incident of corruption fighting back.
The source believed that many of the beneficiaries of corruption and slush funds could not withstand another devastating blow of Buhari’s anti-corruption sledgehammer.
“Hence, they are resolute to derail the apple cart in order to save their ugly faces and sit back to enjoy the loot in their personal banks,” the source said.
“Some of the protesters are not even Nigerians but hired hatchet men paid to do the dirty job. According to security sources, the protesters are said to be bent on embarrassing and humiliating the President throughout his stay in the UK.
“An insider vowed that they will take their demonstrations to the venue of CHOGM holding later in the month in Britain, which President Buhari is attending as a Commonwealth Head of State.”
When contacted, Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, said the protest would not distract Buhari from his mission in the UK.