Nigerians
were shocked to their marrows last Thursday, when supposedly role model
lawmakers, like excited school boys in high jump sport game, scaled
gates and fences in their determination to enter the hallowed chamber of
the National Assembly.
Apparently, the Executive instigated the blockage of the National Assembly Complex to stop the Speaker, Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, from entering. Perhaps most shocking, was the action of policemen who fired canisters of tear-gas at the lawmakers in their bid to stop them from entering the chamber.
Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu tried to exonerate the police, saying: “The speaker came with thugs, refused to be searched and six of the hoodlums attacked a policeman, after which the police ‘tear-gassed’ the Speaker and his riotous crowd so as to restore order. Everybody has seen that somebody was even beating somebody; somebody was pushing a policeman from a car. Somebody was removing road blocks mounted by police.”
But some Nigerians still felt the police were too involved in the matter and seemed bent on pleasing the ruling party. While Nigerians were still reeling from the shocked display of the lawmakers and encounter with Police operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS), soldiers stormed the Data Centre of the All Progressives Congress (APC), without a warrant. Just like the action of the police, some people felt the DSS and soldiers were acting out a scripted order from ‘above.’
The DSS Deputy Director, Information, Marilyn Ogar, however, douched that suspicion, insisting that the DSS invaded the APC office for security reasons. According to her, the service received a petition that the building was used as a secret place to clone the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC’s) permanent voter cards. She said the agency carried out the operation to investigate the allegation.
Ogar who claimed that the DSS retrieved three hard drives, a server, and 31 ‘Ghana must go’ bags of hard copies of data, also said that many people in the APC Centre were arrested. She added: “Nobody knew it was an APC office because there was no sign to indicate that it was their office. It was based on a petition that some people were cloning INEC permanent voter cards in the building at 10, Bola Ajibola Street, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, that our personnel carried out an operation there.”
There are, however, people who feel that the recent displays in the country over political issues do not portend well for the forthcoming 2015 elections. The Stop Impunity Nigeria Campaign on November, 24, vehemently spoke against the actions of the lawmakers, the police and the DSS, expressing fear for democracy in the country.
The ‘Stop Impunity Campaign,’ is a collaborative campaign by a multi-stakeholder group made up of civil society organizations, religious bodies and a Federal Government agency, aimed at re-orienting Nigerians and promoting new ethical values to free the country from the destructive effects of impunity.
The implementing civil society organizations are: Human Development Initiatives (HDI), Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Community Life Project (CLP), and the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ). These organizations are concerned and motivated about the issue of impunity. The Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda, Mr. Edetean Ojo, said Impunity was impeding Nigeria’s social, economic and political development, as well as the progress of its people. Ojo added: “Impunity fuels corruption by both government officials and ordinary citizens while also diminishing the capacity of the government to govern.”
Reacting to the different ugly political issues that had reared their heads in the country, Ojo noted that several weeks ahead of the 2015 General Elections, Stop Impunity Campaign was already quite worried over signs it is seeing, describing it as ominous. Ojo further described some of the actions of the police, DSS and politicians as “some of the worst forms of impunity in the electoral process across the political spectrum.”
Ojo maintained: “In utter disregard for the principle of separation of powers, we are witnesses to the ceaseless use of the police and other security agencies to undermine the independence and effective functioning of the National Assembly, contrary to established democratic norms and practices, as well as the specific provisions of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, to which Nigeria is a signatory.
“We are also seeing the constant use of the police and other security agencies, which have completely lost credibility and any sense of objectivity or impartiality, to harass critics, opponents, and opposition political parties, culminating in last Saturday’s raid on the offices of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos where supposed law enforcement agents wreaked havoc and wanton destruction on the equipment and property of the main opposition party and harassed its workers.”
Ojo said that it was hard to remember any other occasion in Nigeria’s history when electoral politics fell this low and when such level of desperation was apparent. He said these actions endanger Nigerian democracy, stressing that the actors do not create a conducive atmosphere for the elections and certainly do not inspire the confidence that there would be a level playing field for all contestants or that the elections would be free and fair.
He threatened: “Should this situation persist in the next few weeks, we will be compelled to invoke the provisions of Article 24 of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance and inform the Peace and Security Council of the African Union of the situation, with a request that it takes urgent action to maintain the constitutional order.
“Article 24 of the Charter provides that, “When a situation arises in a State Party that may affect its democratic political institutional arrangements or the legitimate exercise of power, the Peace and Security Council shall exercise its responsibilities in order to maintain the constitutional order in accordance with relevant provisions of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union.” I therefore urge Nigerians to put pressure on our leaders to retrace their steps and pull the country back from the brink of anarchy
He urged the INEC to begin to prosecute electoral offenders, in order to bring sanity into the electoral system and avoid future occurrences. Ojo also wants the government to create a body which will be responsible in carrying out sanctions on any individuals or political party found in such acts of indiscipline.
According to him, citizens should be aware that the issue of impunity at a time as this, could only be tackled, if every citizen would engage in a free and fair election, rather than being adamant to ethics or code of conduct in election process.
Mr. Francis Onahor of Community Life Project (CLP) noted that INEC did not have the capacity to carry out prosecution alone and political parties were not helping matters. Onahor urged the public to report any form of illegal act noticed by any party, candidates as well as group to INEC for a proper action to be carried out on such persons.
In the third quarter of this year, the focus of Stop Impunity Campaign for the Week of Action Against Impunity was on Patriotism, Ethics and Civic Responsibility. This quarter, the group focused on impunity in the electoral process. Some of the activities the group had lined up for this Week of Action, to engage and enlighten members of the public about the problem of impunity in the electoral process are: Twitter sessions every day from November 24 till today, (November 28, 2014) from 11am to 1pm. Each session will focus on a different topics.
The identified topics are: Local Government Autonomy, Voters’ Education, Political Parties, Campaign Finances and Impunity and Insurgency and the Elections. The campaign is also organizing a series of community enlightenment voter education forums in different parts of the country and these are being led by Community Life Project (CLP). The Forums are holding in Niger, Gombe, Delta, Kaduna, Adamawa and Kano states.
The campaign plans to organize peaceful rallies across the country on the lack of autonomy for the Local Government authorities. The campaign will submit policy briefs titled: “Local Government Authority Autonomy Now” to different State Houses of Assembly across the country.
The campaign is engaging all 26 registered political parties and inviting them to make commitments to abide by all electoral laws, regulations, norms and standards and in particular, to conform to the Code of Conduct for Political Parties which they have subscribed to with INEC. “We are strongly urging them to avoid involvement in any conduct or activities which might constitute acts of impunity,” said Ojo.
Apparently, the Executive instigated the blockage of the National Assembly Complex to stop the Speaker, Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, from entering. Perhaps most shocking, was the action of policemen who fired canisters of tear-gas at the lawmakers in their bid to stop them from entering the chamber.
Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu tried to exonerate the police, saying: “The speaker came with thugs, refused to be searched and six of the hoodlums attacked a policeman, after which the police ‘tear-gassed’ the Speaker and his riotous crowd so as to restore order. Everybody has seen that somebody was even beating somebody; somebody was pushing a policeman from a car. Somebody was removing road blocks mounted by police.”
But some Nigerians still felt the police were too involved in the matter and seemed bent on pleasing the ruling party. While Nigerians were still reeling from the shocked display of the lawmakers and encounter with Police operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS), soldiers stormed the Data Centre of the All Progressives Congress (APC), without a warrant. Just like the action of the police, some people felt the DSS and soldiers were acting out a scripted order from ‘above.’
The DSS Deputy Director, Information, Marilyn Ogar, however, douched that suspicion, insisting that the DSS invaded the APC office for security reasons. According to her, the service received a petition that the building was used as a secret place to clone the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC’s) permanent voter cards. She said the agency carried out the operation to investigate the allegation.
Ogar who claimed that the DSS retrieved three hard drives, a server, and 31 ‘Ghana must go’ bags of hard copies of data, also said that many people in the APC Centre were arrested. She added: “Nobody knew it was an APC office because there was no sign to indicate that it was their office. It was based on a petition that some people were cloning INEC permanent voter cards in the building at 10, Bola Ajibola Street, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, that our personnel carried out an operation there.”
There are, however, people who feel that the recent displays in the country over political issues do not portend well for the forthcoming 2015 elections. The Stop Impunity Nigeria Campaign on November, 24, vehemently spoke against the actions of the lawmakers, the police and the DSS, expressing fear for democracy in the country.
The ‘Stop Impunity Campaign,’ is a collaborative campaign by a multi-stakeholder group made up of civil society organizations, religious bodies and a Federal Government agency, aimed at re-orienting Nigerians and promoting new ethical values to free the country from the destructive effects of impunity.
The implementing civil society organizations are: Human Development Initiatives (HDI), Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Community Life Project (CLP), and the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ). These organizations are concerned and motivated about the issue of impunity. The Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda, Mr. Edetean Ojo, said Impunity was impeding Nigeria’s social, economic and political development, as well as the progress of its people. Ojo added: “Impunity fuels corruption by both government officials and ordinary citizens while also diminishing the capacity of the government to govern.”
Reacting to the different ugly political issues that had reared their heads in the country, Ojo noted that several weeks ahead of the 2015 General Elections, Stop Impunity Campaign was already quite worried over signs it is seeing, describing it as ominous. Ojo further described some of the actions of the police, DSS and politicians as “some of the worst forms of impunity in the electoral process across the political spectrum.”
Ojo maintained: “In utter disregard for the principle of separation of powers, we are witnesses to the ceaseless use of the police and other security agencies to undermine the independence and effective functioning of the National Assembly, contrary to established democratic norms and practices, as well as the specific provisions of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, to which Nigeria is a signatory.
“We are also seeing the constant use of the police and other security agencies, which have completely lost credibility and any sense of objectivity or impartiality, to harass critics, opponents, and opposition political parties, culminating in last Saturday’s raid on the offices of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos where supposed law enforcement agents wreaked havoc and wanton destruction on the equipment and property of the main opposition party and harassed its workers.”
Ojo said that it was hard to remember any other occasion in Nigeria’s history when electoral politics fell this low and when such level of desperation was apparent. He said these actions endanger Nigerian democracy, stressing that the actors do not create a conducive atmosphere for the elections and certainly do not inspire the confidence that there would be a level playing field for all contestants or that the elections would be free and fair.
He threatened: “Should this situation persist in the next few weeks, we will be compelled to invoke the provisions of Article 24 of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance and inform the Peace and Security Council of the African Union of the situation, with a request that it takes urgent action to maintain the constitutional order.
“Article 24 of the Charter provides that, “When a situation arises in a State Party that may affect its democratic political institutional arrangements or the legitimate exercise of power, the Peace and Security Council shall exercise its responsibilities in order to maintain the constitutional order in accordance with relevant provisions of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union.” I therefore urge Nigerians to put pressure on our leaders to retrace their steps and pull the country back from the brink of anarchy
He urged the INEC to begin to prosecute electoral offenders, in order to bring sanity into the electoral system and avoid future occurrences. Ojo also wants the government to create a body which will be responsible in carrying out sanctions on any individuals or political party found in such acts of indiscipline.
According to him, citizens should be aware that the issue of impunity at a time as this, could only be tackled, if every citizen would engage in a free and fair election, rather than being adamant to ethics or code of conduct in election process.
Mr. Francis Onahor of Community Life Project (CLP) noted that INEC did not have the capacity to carry out prosecution alone and political parties were not helping matters. Onahor urged the public to report any form of illegal act noticed by any party, candidates as well as group to INEC for a proper action to be carried out on such persons.
In the third quarter of this year, the focus of Stop Impunity Campaign for the Week of Action Against Impunity was on Patriotism, Ethics and Civic Responsibility. This quarter, the group focused on impunity in the electoral process. Some of the activities the group had lined up for this Week of Action, to engage and enlighten members of the public about the problem of impunity in the electoral process are: Twitter sessions every day from November 24 till today, (November 28, 2014) from 11am to 1pm. Each session will focus on a different topics.
The identified topics are: Local Government Autonomy, Voters’ Education, Political Parties, Campaign Finances and Impunity and Insurgency and the Elections. The campaign is also organizing a series of community enlightenment voter education forums in different parts of the country and these are being led by Community Life Project (CLP). The Forums are holding in Niger, Gombe, Delta, Kaduna, Adamawa and Kano states.
The campaign plans to organize peaceful rallies across the country on the lack of autonomy for the Local Government authorities. The campaign will submit policy briefs titled: “Local Government Authority Autonomy Now” to different State Houses of Assembly across the country.
The campaign is engaging all 26 registered political parties and inviting them to make commitments to abide by all electoral laws, regulations, norms and standards and in particular, to conform to the Code of Conduct for Political Parties which they have subscribed to with INEC. “We are strongly urging them to avoid involvement in any conduct or activities which might constitute acts of impunity,” said Ojo.
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