The Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC) has expressed shock over President Muhammadu Buhari’s silence, on the “illegal” attempt to impeach Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom.

Eight lawmakers of the State House of Assembly, on Monday commenced impeachment proceeding against Ortom, while some 22 others were reportedly blocked from attending plenary by the police.

In a statement, spokesman of the R-APC, Kazeem Afegbua, said Buhari’s silence suggests he is the “chief promoter of undemocratic illegalities that have consistently undermined our democratic engagements in the last three years”.

Afegbua alleged that there is an attempt to force down the “bitter pills” of Buhari’s second term agenda down the throat of Nigerians.

“On the one hand, the APC party leadership declared that they aren’t losing sleep over our members activities ostensibly to present a fake personae but it has consistently mounted pressure on our members to capitulate under the influence of mouth-watering promises.

“Now that our member Governor Ortom has given the APC red card, and deservedly so, heaven has been let loose and President Buhari has maintained a conspiratorial silence and deliberately feigning ignorance over the democratic gangsterism that has dominated Benue assembly at present.

The group said the Monday incident and similar ones in Benue show Nigeria’s democracy is “seriously under threat” by those trying to “armtwist the Benue people against their will,” he said.

According to the statement, “this desperation is getting too much and it must be arrested forthwith without equivocation before this democracy is reduced to a mindless rubble.”

“We cannot afford to feign ignorance over this heinous crime against humanity under an atmosphere of threat, tension and harassment that has assumed the second nature of this government,” the group added.

“It is becoming petty that this government has descended to a level of irredeemable dictatorship and outright desperation in the name of forcing the bitter pills of second term down the throat of Nigerians.

“We cannot continue to pretend that all is well when our country is gradually descending to the abyss of maximum rulership orchestrated by the president’s foot soldiers.

“We are therefore raising alarm that this democracy must be saved from the indecent grip of APC agents of suppression and oppression under the clear supervision of the president.”