•Calls on International community to deny INEC commissioners travel visas

By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), on Tuesday, disclosed that no fewer than six million voters that turned out on Saturday, February 25, 2023 with their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), were brutally disenfranchised.

It maintained that further findings showed that average of 500,000 active voters were shut out and disenfranchised in each of the eleven States in Eastern Nigeria with Rivers, Imo and Ebonyi States as the worst hit, as the poll was also brutally rigged for APC.

The group disclosed this in a statement signed by the trio of Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman of Intersociety; Chinwe Umeche Esquire, Head of Democracy; and Chidinma Udegbunam Esquire, Head of Publicity. They said that there was an estimated 50 per cent PVC-holders voter turnout or intended voter turnout in each of the eleven states.

It noted that out of the three major factors that caused the massive disenfranchisement, 60 per cent was inescapably blamed on INEC’s deliberately created late arrival of voting materials and staffs/BVAS failure/failure to track active voters’ names in the voters’ list, while non-arrival of voting materials and staff took 20 per cent and election postponement 20 per cent.

The statement partly reads: "In the whole, the Commission was responsible for 80 per cent and sitting governors and their allied others including “Government Unknown Gunmen” insecurity and fears took 20 per cent.

“In Anambra State, not less than 1 - 1.5million came out and over half of the latter were brutally deprived of voting. In Imo State where election never took place in over 10 local government areas, killer activities of the “Government Unknown Gunmen” and incurable incompetence and sabotage of INEC forced over 500,000 active voters not to vote.

“In Enugu State, late arrival of voting materials and staffs forced over 500,000 active voters not to vote.

“In Rivers State, the ‘Nwike conspiratorial game plan’ forced over 1million to 1.5 million active voters not to vote. In Delta State, late arrival of voting material and staffs and rival group violence brutally delayed the poll and shut out 500,000-1million active voters.

“These are just to mention but a few. Similarly, what happened in Lagos State was an eye opener where hundreds of thousands were scared and shut out violently or fearfully from voting.

“The results declared, independently speaking, are not true reflection of the actual total that validly voted. In Ogun, FCT and Eastern dominant areas of the far North (Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, etc), the story was generally the same."

While saying that the results “Announced At APC World Press Conference appeared To Be Duplicated For INEC,” Intersociety noted that the conspiracy between INEC and APC in the ongoing armada of presidential poll rigging brazenly came to the fore on the afternoon of Monday, 27th February 2023, when the APC Presidential Campaign Council held a world press conference and openly usurped the statutory functions of INEC by disclosing the “summed up results of each of the six geopolitical zones, even while boasting that “it was coasting to victory.”

It expressed shock that APC made the disclosure when the National Collation Center in Abuja had not announced up to five States’ results; done in clear violation of the 2022 Electoral Act (as amended).

The group stressed that the despicable and desperate act of the APC further exposed its brazen conspiracy with INEC and lent credence to the fact that INEC has been announcing ‘results’ prepared for it by APC.

It added: “The brazen abandonment of BVAS/IReV and resort to manual collation is a further attestation to the above fact, even as it called on the international community like European Union, United State of America, the United Kingdom, France and others to embargo funding INEC and rubber stamping CSOs.

“The uselessness of multimillion dollar international funding supports to Nigeria’s INEC and its rubberstamping CSOs has been brought to the fore as far as the 2023 Presidential Poll is concerned.

“The funding to INEC from which rubberstamping CSOs receive substantial cuts, has castrated the CSOs, gagged and made them appendages of INEC who go about with reckless abandon, rubberstamping its roguish electoral management.

“Therefore, beyond strong condemnation of the despicable role of the Commission in the just held 2023 shambolic Presidential Poll, the authorities of EU, US, UK, France and other internationally respected Democracies and democracy funding support institutions are called upon to place embargo on funding of INEC and focus more attention on checkmating voters’ disenfranchisement, especially during Continuous Voters’ Registration and Distribution of Permanent Voter Cards in Nigeria or any part thereof.”

It called on respected international democracy actors, including 32 of them written on 10th February 2023, to also emphasis on full digitalization of voting process in Nigeria or dualization of same 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.

Intersociety further urged them to blacklist all serving Resident Electoral Commissioners and National Commissioners of INEC and the Commission’s Chairman by denying them visas and access to international engagements and recognitions, noting that its solemn prayers were as a matter of uttermost immediacy and urgent international importance.

Emphasising on the sub heading: "Brutal Rigging Of 2023 Presidential Poll,” Intersociety described itself as Nigeria’s Nostradamus, as far as Nigeria’s shambolic and INEC in-house brutally rigged 2023 presidential poll is concerned, saying that ‘researchers and investigators were living and immortal seers and predictors as what they see and say today take others several months or years to understand or comprehend.

It added: “Intersociety, therefore, saw the Nigeria’s INEC’s macabre dance and shameless display of broad day armada of electoral fraud and roguery coming to fruition.

“Apart from forensically monitoring the Commission since June 2021 when it commenced another shambolic exercise, called “Continuous Voter Registration (CVR)’, we also make bold to say that what remains of minutest corporate integrity and independence of the Commission totally collapsed in Sept 2022 when card carrying members of the central ruling APC and integrity-challenged others were presidentially smuggled in and quickly rubber-stamped by Senate as “INEC’s new National Commissioners and State Resident Electoral Commissioners.”

“These were done magisterially despite widespread public outcries; with the biased appointees appeared to have received matching orders to massively subvert the sacred electoral wishes of the Nigerian citizens in the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll, which came to fruition three days ago.

“Totality of the above brings to the fore why other Government poll rigging institutions such as the Nigerian Military displayed commendable non-partisanship for the first time in history during the poll.

“It must be boldly stated that the 2023 presidential poll was massively and brutally rigged in-house by INEC by many, if not most of its State Resident Electoral Commissioners (“State Returning Officers”) and others procured as “Chief Collation Officers” mainly integrity-challenged academics. Others involved are the so called “INEC National Commissioners as well as the INEC Chairman with vicarious and direct liability inescapably hanging around his neck.”