Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA) on Tuesday, said the alarm raised by the Independent National Electoral Commission over the rising insecurity situation across the country and its impact on the 2023 general elections confirms its earlier warning for two years now that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is not ready to end the insecurity in the country for peaceful elections to hold.

HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement said the Buhari government failed to curb insecurity deliberately to destabilize and undermine the 2023 poll.

The group said the deliberate action by the Buhari government include the arrest of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu from Kenya and his forceful return to face terrorism charges in Abuja where he has been detained in the custody of the Department of State Services.

This action, he said created spectacularly security challenges in the South East of Nigeria with many fringe groups unconnected with the Indigenous People of Biafra waging internecine war against strategic national security and election assets including offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The attacks on INEC offices are not restricted to the South East of Nigeria even as states in the South West of Nigeria have witnessed a couple of attacks leading to the destruction of precious and monumental election related National assets”.

On Monday, the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu at the validation of election security training resources in Abuja noted that the forthcoming election faces serious threat of cancellation should the insecurity across the country fail to improve.

Represented by the Chairman, Board of Electoral Institute, Abdullahi Zuru, Yakubu explained that “if the insecurity is not monitored and dealt with decisively, it could ultimately culminate in the cancellation and/or postponement of elections in sufficient constituencies to hinder declaration of election results and precipitate constitutional crisis.”

HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “We have always said it in numerous press statements and TV appearances since two years now that President Muhammadu Buhari won’t stop the insecurity deliberately to destabilize and undermine the 2023 poll. Now, INEC has raised the alarm that the next general elections face threat of cancellations and postponement due to security challenges including killings, kidnappings, burning of INEC offices and injustice against those detained against the rule of law.

“The alarm by INEC is long foretold going by how Buhari has allowed nepotism to reign supreme in his government and how he has subverted the rule of law by will against those he perceived did not vote him into office in 2015 and 2019.

“The failure and refusal of the Buhari administration to also use non-kinetic means to resolve the security challenges in the southern part of the country as non-kinetic means are used to solve terrorism in the north is also condemnable.

“HURIWA condemns the deliberate security challenges imposed on Nigerians by Northern hawks and the President in all parts of Nigeria including the South East whereby the kidnap from Nairobi of Nnamdi Kanu precipitated security nightmares in the once peaceful Igboland. HURIWA has therefore called on all Nigerians to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to scale up supervision of the security forces and make necessary changes in the hierarchies of the security forces to bring in very competent and merit-based professionals who love Nigeria in a very altruistic way to pilot the affairs of some of the national security institutions to curb these incessant and Persistent attacks.”

Seizure of results: Ebonyi Reps member wants WAEC sanctioned, threatens legal action

The member representing Ikwo/Ezza South Federal Constituency, Ebonyi State, at the National Assembly, Hon. Comrade Chinedu Ogah, (OON), yesterday called for the sanctioning of the West African Examination Council, WAEC, over the seizure of some results belonging to Ebonyi indigenes in the country. He also threatened to institute a legal action against the examination body.

The House of Representatives member who was displeased by the development called on the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, to sanction WAEC over what it describes as the Council’s derailment from it’s administrative mandate.

Disclosing this in a statement, Ogah wondered why students of Ebonyi State origin would be made to pass through such difficult situation after registering and sitting for WAEC examination with their counterpart from other States of the Federation.

He added that If the development was not given the attention it requires, it could lead to youth restiveness and proliferation of other social vices among youths in the State.

According to him, “I want to call on the West African Examination Council, WAEC, to immediately release the remaining part of the results belonging to indigenes of Ebonyi State.

The statement read In part: “I urge WAEC to reverse the N500, 000 sanction placed on the affected schools as there are not evidence supporting the fact that there was any form of malpractice carried out by the schools.

“During the conduct of such examination, WAEC has examination supervisors, invigilators and general supervisors who oversee the examination. These categories of individuals never cancel the examination when it took place.

“What is the rationale of releasing part of the WAEC results and withholding part? We want the part being withheld by WAEC to be released as those remaining are critical subjects.

“I have consulted my lawyers to institute legal action against WAEC if it refuses to rescind its decision.

“We want to call on the Minister of Education to call on WAEC to provide the Federal Government with evidence of payment of Education tax and how it has applied the Federal character policy in its administrative activities.

“WAEC is supposed to show evidence of taxes paid to the Federal Government as they usually make billions of naira annually in the conduct of various examinations.

“I call on the Minister of Education to sanction WAEC for failure to operate within the perimeters of its mandate.”