Guber/Assembly Polls: Rights Groups Raises Alarm Over Plot To Compromise, Cause Violence In Enugu, Anambra

Posted by Ignatius Okpara Enugu, Latest Headlines, News From The State Wednesday, March 8th, 2023

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Ahead of the March 11, Governorship and State Houses of Assembly in Nigeria, some human rights groups, under the platform of ‘International College For Rights And Democracy And Eastern Democracy And Rights Coalition have raised the alarm of alleged plots to cause violence and compromise the exercises in Enugu and Anambra States on Saturday.

They therefore, called on the security agencies to as a matter of urgency rise up to their responsibilities and thwart such undemocratic conduct.

They noted that “intersociety has shared credible information with us from reliable sources indicating that the worst is likely yet to come as it concerns the INEC-coordinated brutal and widespread rigging of the 2023 General Elections particularly the Presidential Poll.

” The March 11, 2023 Governorship and State Assembly Elections are not expected to reflect remarkable positive changes, but to be further marred by heavy monetary and material inducements using billions illegitimately withdrawn by Govs from their State coffers.

“This is to the extent that there is most likely going to be terrorization of voters and heavy monetary and material inducement of the voting process within and outside polling units.

“Plans have been concluded in Anambra and Enugu to monetarily and materially induce rural and urban community leaders including town union presidents, traditional rulers, youth leaders, leaders of landlords associations and transport unions, etc.

” Billions of naira worth of cash and hundreds of thousands of cartons or bags of preserved food items including INDOMIE, tomatoes, rice, etc have also been procured in that regard.

“Other beneficiaries of earmarked State billions are key National and State INEC staffs (.i.e. National Commissioners for States, Resident Electoral Commissioners, SPOs, EOs, AEOs and State and LGA heads of INEC ICT).

” State actor violence has also been earmarked to be unleashed in areas where State Assembly candidates of the spending State Governments are likely to lose or about to lose during the poll. Anambra State is a State to watch.

“Other victim-States are Enugu, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Delta, Rivers, Lagos, etc. The sharing of the State billions in Anambra (“mobilization of INEC officials/community leaders”) is reported to have been fixed for Thursday, 9th March 2023.

“Apart from fears of losing State gubernatorial incumbencies, there are also fears of losing majority in the State Assemblies/impeachment fears especially in Anambra State and these are behind gubernatorial desperations and squandering of State funds and deployment of state actor violence.

“The security agencies must therefore rise to the occasion by thwarting the plots and protecting voters to vote conscientiously.

The group which expressed total displeasure of the recent presidential election in the country also accused propagators of State Jihadism/Radical Islamism of being behind INEC “brutally Rigged 2023 Presidential Poll”

They renewed their call on the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Chairman, National/State Commissioners and ICT Heads “to collectively resign for rigging the said election.

The rights Organizations hinted that they have adopted The Intersociety’s seven key demands to World Democracies on visa bans against 54 INEC officials and four Govs

It allege that “State billions have been earmarked to cause violence and compromise the Governorship/Assembly polls in Anambra, Enugu, Imo, etc”

This was contained in a joint press statement issued by the group and made available to African Examiner in Enugu on Wednesday.

The document read thus: “thus Joint Leaderships of the International College for Democracy and Human Rights and the Eastern Democracy and Human Rights Coalition have carefully studied and observed with deepest dismay that ‘propagators of State Jihadism and Radical Islamism’ are behind the INEC in-house brutally rigged 2023 Presidential Election.

” The rigging was perpetrated in their desperate bid to transform Nigeria or any part thereof into ‘a radical, retrogressive, rancorous and corrupt Islamic Republic’ where social retrogression, backwardness, primitivism, barbarism, crude religiosity, violence and fears, blood and tears

“Chronic mass poverty, massive looting and squander-mania and abuse of power and public office will permanently remain the country’s corporate trademark and its policy and governance direction.

“Having rested the country’s seat of power on State Jihadism and radical Islamism, the outgoing central Government is stopping at nothing to advance and consolidate its radical Islamism policy by forcing the country’s presidency into “Muslim presidency and Muslim vice presidency (Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket)”; in a country of 50-50 Christian-Muslim population composition.

“It was, therefore, in their desperation to ‘have this achieved at all costs’ that the entire INEC Management Team and structures were collapsed into carrying out brutal in-house rigging of the all-important presidential poll; done widespread and best be described as “brazenly and shamelessly executed INEC in-house armada of electoral fraud”.

“The propagators of State Jihadism and Radical Islamism under reference are located within the country’s public office establishment including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Prominent among those that signed for the International College for Democracy and Human Rights are respected US Democracy Campaigner, John Gregg and his Swiss counterpart, Berhard Warner; Board Chair of Ekwenche Research Institute, USA, Prof Justin Akujieze (a renowned physicist), Chairman of World Igbo Congress, Prof. Anthony Ejiofor, Prof Jerry Chiedozie Chukwuokolo (a respected University Don), Chair, Global Igbo Leaders, USA.

Others are, Amadiebube Mbama, Maazi Tochukwu Ezeoke (CEO, Njenje Media International) and Doctors Mrs. Nwamaka Iguh and Ngozi-Chuma Umeh (renowned Doctors of Law and University Dons).

Signatories on behalf of the Eastern Democracy and Human Rights Coalition are Board Chairman of International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chairman, Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), South-East Zone, Comrade Aloysius Attah and his Anambra and Enugu counterparts, Comrades Vincent Ezekwueme and Comrade Zulu Offoelue (Educationist).

Other includes, Engineer Ikenweoke Nwandu (Computer Security Expert), Ositadinma Agu (New Media Expert) and Barristers Chinwe Umeche, Chidinma Udegbunam, Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Chekwube Violet Ezekweike and Ndidiamaka Catherine Bernard, Principal Officers at Intersociety and members of Eastern Democracy and Rights Coalition.

They alledged that “no fewer than 100 defenseless Christians have been slaughtered and their innocent bloods spilled by Fulani Jihadists who are foot-soldiers of the propagators of Nigeria’s State Jihadism and Radical Islamism, to celebrate the emergence of rigged ‘Muslim-Muslim Presidency’ by INEC.

“As a matter of fact, slaughtering of no fewer than 60 of this number occurred in Benue State alone where in four days or between 25th Feb and 1st March 2023, not less than 50 Christians alone were hacked to death in Kwande Local Government Area of the State.

“The killings were specifically perpetrated to mark “the APC winning of the presidential poll in Benue”. In all, not less than 100 Christians were hacked to death by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen between 10th Feb and 6th March 2023 in following States: Benue (Kwande and Guma), Enugu (Uzo Uwani and Nkanu East), Edo (Owan West), Ondo and Plateau States. No fewer than 5000 defenseless Christians were hacked to death in Nigeria in 2022, according to Intersociety statistics

“The Joint Leaderships of the International College for Democracy and Human Rights and the Eastern Democracy and Human Rights are surprised and shocked that members of the INEC National Management Team fingered in the in-house brutal rigging of the 2023 Presidential Election are still parading themselves and going about without shame and remorse.

” The worst of it all is that INEC Chairman; Prof Mahmood Yakubu still has the audacity to talk about ‘integrity and credibility’ including another round of empty or fake assurances ahead of the March 11, 2023 Governorship and State Assembly polls’.

“We are totally surprised that the entire INEC National Commissioners (12 to 14 in number), 37 State Resident Electoral Commissioners, the Commission’s Director and Deputy Director of ICT and its National Chairman (Prof Mahmood Yakubu), numbering 54 have refused to voluntarily vacate their offices and apologized to Nigerians whose sacred electoral wishes were brutally subverted.

“Apart from publicly evidential brutal rigging of the presidential poll, emerging facts from the Commission’s server and IReV portals have also put the Commission’s grossly uploaded results at grave variance with the ones roguishly announced and declared.

“We hereby call on 12 to 14 serving National Commissioners, 37 Resident Electoral Commissioners, Director/Deputy Director of ICT and Prof Mahmood Yakubu to collectively and voluntarily resign and vacate their offices with immediate effect.

“The Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Otuoke in Bayelsa State, Prof Teddy Charles Adias, must also resign as the University’s Vice Chancellor and barred for life from involvement in any election supervision in Nigeria or any part thereof.

“These are on account of his ignoble role in Rivers State where he served as the State Collation Officer and aided the armada of electoral fraud in connivance with Gov Nyesom Wike, Gov of the State.

“The Joint Leaderships of the International College for Democracy and Human Rights and the Eastern Democracy and Human Rights hereby adopt with deep appreciation the Intersociety’s seven key demands listed as follows:

“Slamming visa sanctions and other international travel, engagement and recognition restrictions on the serving Gov of Imo State and office immunity losing (outgoing) Govs of Rivers, Kaduna and Ebonyi States, repatriating all their stashed away material and human deposits and monetary valuable services (if any) traced and linked to the 58 top INEC officials and strongly suspected office atrocity perpetrator Govs named.

“Ensuring that all members of their nuclear families living or holidaying or studying anywhere in the named respected countries and their assets and liabilities are speedily repatriated back to Nigeria and permanently embargoed from finding their way back to the respected countries.

“Stripping Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and Festus Okoye Esquire of international forums and opportunities to speak emptily and noisily and stop from receiving undue international attentions and recognitions and permanently barred from traveling to any of the 31 respected Democratic countries named including their nuclear family members.

“Holistically reviewing future funding and international democracy support funds to INEC and its rubberstamping CSOs including scholarships and sponsorship of their international visitations and exchange programs and speech deliveries.

“Reviewing downward funding of Election Day monitoring and upward reviewing of supporting independent CSOs’ critical oversight on INEC especially during Continuous Voters’ Registration and Distribution of Permanent Voters’ Cards to discourage disenfranchisement and enhance enfranchisement; and mounting sufficient pressure and tying future democracy support funding to INEC on full digitalization of voting process or dualization of voting in the country or any part thereof to include electronic PVC and manual PVC voting; whereby registered voters can vote from their homes or choose to vote physically at polling units with their votes count.