Combat ready-soldiers take over Tinubu’s Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi residence

**** Nobody can intimidate me, says National Leader of the All Progressives Congress

For about three days now, the private residence of the national leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu located on Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi has been under surveillance by battle ready and helmet wearing soldiers.

Close to 30 stern-looking soldiers in three patrol vans and an army trucks have been noticed to been stationed close to the entrance of the gate to Tinubu’s house.

There have been insinuation that their mission might be to arrest Tinubu and perhaps scare away hordes of politicians and visitors to the APC national leader’s residence.

According to eye-witnesses, the soldiers were first noticed on Sunday few minutes to 11 pm in an army truck as they were first stationed about 500 meters away from Tinubu’s gate.

 Later, they were said to have moved close to his gate as if making efforts to gain entrance.

The stern looking soldiers were around for hours on Sunday and returned on Monday to continue their surveillance.

Monday night about 10.45pm, they returned to the residence in two army vans and stayed there throughout the night.

Reports indicated that when some of the soldiers alighted from the van, they started walking back and forth in front of the house and around the house.

This morning, Tuesday, two vans from the army were stationed on both sides of the house along Bourdillon road as their mission is said to still be shrouded in secrecy.

However, reacting to the development, Tinubu stated that he would not be intimidated by this show of strength, intimidation and possible harassment.

“I remain resolute in my advocacy and support for the rule of law. Jonathan’s government has through the service chiefs staged a coup against Nigerians and the Constitution and now wants to silence his critics. I will not be muzzled through the barrel of the gun. The guns and bullets they should use to defeat Boko Haram are now being turned against the opposition and innocent Nigerians.” He said.

According to Tinubu, he remains emphatically resolute and committed to the path of change in Nigeria and the liberating manifesto of the All Progressives Party, APC.

Tinubu, is an unrelenting critic of the maladministration of the Jonathan-led PDP government.

Tinubu is credited to have played the most pivotal role in the re-building of the Nigerian opposition and the formation of the APC, Nigeria’s most formidable opposition party since independence.

It is believed that the continued surveillance on Tinubu’s residence by battle ready and helmet wearing soldiers might be part of a broader plan by the Jonathan Presidency to intimidate Tinubu and his political associates and scare them  from making provocative statements or building a broad coalition against the present government as he did during the NADECO days.

It would be recalled that last week, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Olisa Metuh, had warned that the ruling party would no longer condone unjustified criticisms across the country from the opposition.

Metuh said that the fact that the party had remained calm and peaceful in spite of numerous provocations, did not suggest that it would allow itself to be cowed.