Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA), on Monday, knocked the Federal Government for using various subterfuge and divisive means to frustrate the petition of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi against his All Progressives Congress counterpart, Bola Tinubu.
HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the Federal Government and President Muhammadu Buhari asked those who were not satisfied with the outcome of the February 25 presidential election to go to court which Obi and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party have since done.
HURIWA, however, said it is ironic yet tyrannical that the same Buhari administration has unleashed a reign of political terrorism and targeted attacks using Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force and government officials to actively embark on campaigns of calumny against Peter Obi and Datti Baba-Ahmed to undermine their petition against Tinubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The group again reiterated that there is nothing wrong in applying legal means to stop the inauguration of the President-Elect, Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023 because the February 25, 2023 election that produced him is still being actively challenged in court by leading candidates in the poll.
HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “The Presidential election of February 25th 2023 is generally believed to have been rigged and criminally manipulated by INEC led by Mahmood Yakubu just to favour the APC candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“When those who felt cheated complained, the APC government at the centre asked them to go to court. LP and PDP went to court but Labour Party’s petition is considered very damaging to the credibility claims of Bola Tinubu because it is even asking that he be disqualified from ever going near the office of President of Nigeria.
“But the Buhari administration has unleashed a reign of political terrorism and targeted attacks using DSS, police abd even military chiefs to actively embark on campaigns of calumny against Peter Obi and Datti Ahmed and also the police invaded Labour Party’s secretariat to force regime change with the open agenda to undermine Peter Obi’s petition- the same petition you asked Peter obi and others who felt cheated to file. This is tyranny.
“Also, the efforts to compromise the judiciary through subterfuge and secret meetings as alleged in the recent travels on wheelchair of the Chief Justice of Nigeria is another damaging allegation that is deliberately swept under the carpets and the judiciary thinks it is business as usual.
“These are very critical issues but the greatest sabotage against democracy is the use of police to destabilise Labour Party to force regime change. Nigerians must condemn this brazen attempt at establishing anarchy and impunity in Nigeria. You can’t manipulate the poll and still manipulate the security forces to sabotage the petition filed by a litigant who is not satisfied with the conduct of the presidential election. This attempt must be arrested forthwith.”
April 10, 2023
Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko
National Coordinator – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA.