US Observer Group Says Election Shortcomings Orchestrated To Benefit Incumbent

US Observer Group Says Election Shortcomings Orchestrated to Benefit Incumbent, APC

•Military invasion and rampage in Rivers State, troublesome on several levels

•Clear pattern of desperation, constitutional violation of key institutions

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The
United States-Nigeria Law Group, an election observer initiative, has
released a damning election assessment report of the 2019 election,
where it clearly stated that most of the issues that troubled the 2019
general election were deliberately contrived to assist the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC) to retain power at the centre.

Of
particular note is an aspect of the report which claimed that the
President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, in both the Judiciary and
INEC matters, violated the constitution of Nigeria, which guarantees
their independence from interference.
From its findings, the group
posited that while the electorate prepared for elections, it was as
though the incumbent was “preparing a military operation.”

In a
statement signed by Mr. Emmanuel Ogebe and obtained by THISDAY at the
weekend, the Group said it observed conscious efforts to compromise the
elections and raised early warnings as well as concerns, which have now
been validated and proven by the resulting self-sabotaged elections.

For
example, it noted that INEC announced inconclusive elections in 6
states out of which PDP was reportedly leading in all but one.
“This
is highly suggestive and unsettling all by itself. However, there are
further indications that similar results in states in which the APC was
leading were not declared inconclusive. Some states where a rerun was
illogical, because the mathematical probabilities could not conceivably
produce a different outcome have still been scheduled for rerun.

“The
principle on cancelled votes versus margin of victory, which ostensibly
informed the inconclusive declarations in state elections, was not
uniformly applied in the presidential elections. So far the following
states have been declared inconclusive – the most ever in Nigerian
history – Benue, Plateau, Adamawa, Sokoto, Kano and Bauchi states.

“It
is especially noteworthy that in the case of Kano State, the PDP was
overwhelming leading when the Deputy Governor seized and tore the
results of the last Local Government to be declared. This brazen act of
brigandage was caught on video and is perhaps emblematic of how the
election results overall have been hijacked.”
On the postponement of
the presidential and National Assembly elections from February 16 to 23,
the group said its investigations and analysis indicated that the
action was orchestrated by the ruling party based on its dissatisfaction
with judiciary pronouncements on cases affecting its candidates.

According
to the election observer group, the Buhari regime had shown
unambiguously its displeasure with both the Judiciary and INEC for not
delivering its preferred outcomes.
It further held that there was a
clear pattern of desperation, constitutional violation and fabrication
in the actions of the regime towards both key institutions that have a
critical role in the elections.
Thus, in this post-election report,
the group detailed various instances in which it said the incumbent
president had shown intent and discernible actions to undermine the
elections.

While enumerating several shortcomings of the 2019
election, the USNLG expressed grave concern at the brazen
militarisation of the elections.
It added that in furtherance of its
partisan agenda in both the Judiciary and INEC, the President Buhari-led
APC administration fabricated a faux court ruling on the basis of which
it justified its unconstitutional acts.

For instance, the USNLG
report noted that: “The Buhari regime acting ostensibly on a private
petition interfered with both the Judiciary and INEC regarding the
removal of CJN and election postponement respectively.”
It said the
President’s refusal to sign the electoral reforms into law showed
clearly “the mens rea or criminal intent by the president not to allow
the conduct of credible elections from the word go.

“Indeed, the
president is on record for having said following the passage of the
‘not-too-young to run’ law, that it should be only after his
re-election. This Freudian slip cements the notion that he nixed the
electoral reforms for the same self-perpetuation.
“For these and
other reasons, it is transparently clear that the Buhari regime had
motive, opportunity, mens rea and actus reus (criminal intent and
culpable acts) and declared intent and discernible actions to undermine
the elections. In this respect, they were successful in premeditated
failure,” it said.

The election observer group therefore said it
decided to share its report for the benefit of the electorate and the
international community for the sake of global democracy.
With
regards to the issue of malpractices and activities of compromised poll
officials, the observer group said it has firsthand report of what
transpired in Benue State, for instance, on the eve of the rescheduled
presidential and National Assembly polls of February 16.

“We
gathered that out of a list of about 500 names submitted by a federal
institution to INEC as poll officials, a ruling party Senator selected
those whom he deemed he could ‘work with’. In addition, the APC Senator
doled out millions of naira, which was distributed to the INEC-trained
poll officials at a location in Makurdi, the Benue State Capital. The
temporary poll officials were called by phone to come and collect the
serving Senator’s cash in person from the said location.”

It also
said that before the governorship election of March 9, a university
professor was apprehended with election materials in Benue State and his
vehicle burnt by irate voters, thus reiterating the fact that it
witnessed firsthand, the distribution of cash from the back of a vehicle
to political operatives for unknown purposes and particularly stunned
that the party functionaries were escorted by police.

The USNLG
report stated that operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) apprehended a vehicle loaded with currency in the
trunk of a vehicle of a politician linked to the APC in February.

While
expressing its concern over President Buhari’s actions and inactions
before, during and after the elections, the observer group said it was
deeply concerned at the president’s remarks that electoral malpractice
would attract summary execution.
“We are gravely concerned at the
brazen militarisation of these elections. Buhari has gone beyond
militarisation to martialisation of the election process. We are more
concerned at remarks attributed to the Chief of Army Staff that, ‘If
Commander-in-Chief has given order to the Nigerian Army to that effect,
rest assured that order will be totally and effectively obeyed without
any ifs or buts.”
Specifically, the election observer group lamented the military invasion of Rivers State and described it as troublesome.

“The
military invasion and rampage in Rivers State is troublesome on several
levels not the least of which is: The ruling party APC was not even a
candidate in the elections yet the government interfered with military
might to rig in the most ignoble and egregious way ever.

“The
wicked, oppressive and violent attacks on innocent civilians and their
homes and property in the formerly restive Niger Delta just for
elections, has the real propensity for re-igniting another armed
insurrection in the region.

“It is clear that the overarching
objective of the coercive force is not to install APC, which has no
candidate but to uninstall PDP. Rivers State has been the key rallying
point and resource base for the opposition and the military mission is
to completely gut their capacity by stripping them of power in Rivers
State.”

The group noted that the military denial of involvement was not credible in the least.
“It
should be pointed out that electoral law places security under INEC and
not INEC under security. The army has denied that its personnel are the
ones featured with arms in uniform perpetrating these atrocities. This
response is neither credible nor helpful as it implies there are fake
soldiers on rampage and the real army is helpless to protect the
citizenry from them.”

Despite the pronouncements by the
authorities on security readiness, the observer group noted that between
the two elections, over 200 people were slaughtered in non-voting
massacres in Benue, Zamfara and Kaduna states.
It said it was
particularly disheartening that military forces were mobilised to
opposition states for the elections in numbers unseen in
insecurity-plagued states showing a total lack of prioritisation and
callous insensitivity to human lives.

On the Security deployments to Rivers State during the election, the group said the scenario resembled a war zone.

It
maintained that it was in possession of a bizarre video showing an INEC
official admitting that their office was besieged by the military and
results of election officers confiscated, thereby preventing them from
collating the election result.

In addition, the group said:
“Viral video footage showed soldiers overrun the home of the state
Education Commissioner as well as charging through his kitchen chasing
after female residents with guns drawn.

“Other videos show
courageous women chanting and keeping soldiers from breaking in and
stealing election results. Yet another video shows protesters singing
Christian choruses, when the military opened fire on the harmless crowd,
injuring several. In another, the military went to arrest a former
militant but were prevented by members of his community,” the group
stated.

In further confirmation of its position that officials of
the ruling party conivived to interfere in conduct of the election, the
group said the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami had
written to INEC advising it to comply with the judgment of the Court of
Appeal by admitting the result of the APC Zamfara state primaries and
also comply with the provisions of section 38 of the Electoral Act which
empowers INEC to postpone the election for the governorship, National
and State Houses of Assembly election. It said that the AGF actually
admitted in writing that the APC needs “a little time to catch up.”

Such
an ” illicit motive could not be clearer nor more dubious – to score an
advantage for a political party”, it said. According to the group, INEC
postponed the elections of February 16th and March 2nd after the
Attorney General requested it whether or not the commission admits that.
USNLG said that in further validation of its stand that the election
postponement was contrived for the benefit of the incumbent party, INEC
also allowed the APC in Zamfara State to field candidates in the
rescheduled elections just like the AG illegally and fraudulently
requested.

Also the observer group said that just as was being
feared, the death threats to members of the international community by
the Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai was followed by
restrictions on international observers by the military who prevented
them from monitoring elections in Rivers State.
“The restraint of
international observers is not only proof of the government’s grand
design to brazenly rig the elections but also that resistance would have
resulted in their return in “bodyguards” as earlier warned”.

Source:- Thisdaylive