Soldiers on Tuesday night returned to the frontage of All Progressives Congress (APC) national leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s Ikoyi, Lagos home.

 They had on Monday night relaxed the three-day all-night siege near the residence before returning on Tuesday night.

A security man attached to the house said a detachment of soldiers “arrived at about 11pm in a lorry stationed at the next house to Tinubu’s”.

“They wore helmets and uniforms and had guns. They were about a dozen soldiers. They hung there till about 3am yesterday but we have not seen them today,” he said.

Nigerians from all walks of life have been criticising the siege which the military however denied, saying the soldiers were on “routine patrol”.

General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 81 Division Major Gen. Tanmi Dibi said his men were on patrol which he described as routine.

Yesterday, the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation described the deployment of troops around some leaders of the party as a deliberate act of intimidation and provocation by the Jonathan government.

It warned that nothing untoward should happen to its leaders, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State – whose Government House in Owerri, also on Tuesday was under siege by soldiers, who brought an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) to its gate.  President Goodluck Jonathan would be held liable for their safety, it said.

The statement signed by the Director of Media and Publicity of the Campaign, Mallam Garba Shehu, said deployment of armed soldiers around the residences of Tinubu and Okorocha for yet-to-be disclosed reasons by the PDP administration was unacceptable and a breach of their fundamental human rights.

The organisation said it viewed seriously this deployment of troops, adding that “this Rambo-style intimidation of opposition figures is not acceptable, and this crude show of power should not take place under any democratically elected government”.

Shehu said as the Commander-in-Chief, President Jonathan would be held personally liable because he has the overall responsibility for the deployment of troops across the country.

Saying that the action was an embarrassment, the organisation condemned what it called abuse of power by the President in order to intimidate opposition members. It reminded President Jonathan that the will of the people is superior to a standing army.

 It advised APC supporters throughout the country to remain calm and behave responsibly, saying “if the country could survive military dictators to restore the roots of democracy, they should not be intimidated by tin gods in democratic clothing”.