Amnesty International report another conspiracy with political actors to instigate crisis ahead of 2019, group alleges
The Amnesty International has continued to receive knocks over its misleading report tagged “Harvest of Death Three Years of Bloody Clashes between Farmers and Herders in Nigeria.
The London-based organization which focuses on human rights wasn’t sparred by Nigerians who have lashed out at the group over its latest episode of fallacy.
In President Muhammadu Buhari’s words, “it is geared towards damaging the morale of the Nigerian military.”
It is therefore on this ground that the Middlebelt Conscience Guard has acted, accusing the international organization’s report as “an agglomeration of series of events that have been reported, discussed, analyzed and acted upon by Nigerians and their leaders.”
Prince Onoja Ugwu, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the group raised this alarm on Tuesday in a press release in Abuja.
According to Mr Ugwu, AI is only acting the script of its sponsors who appears hell bent on undermining the remarkable gains of the Nigerian Army and peace of the country.
“The Nigerian Military made progress in dealing with the Boko Haram problem the moment the farmers/herders’ crisis was brought under control; since they do not have to contend with multiple deployments they are able to concentrate resources in countering the terrorists. Should this international NGO succeed in provoking fresh attacks with its report, the military will again be deployed to the affected hotspots, only that this time around the reprisals will be simultaneous across the country. This would stretch the military thin and give room for all security challenges in the country to fester, “ he stated.
“The report mischievously accuse the government and the military of not doing enough to protect people from being attacked and killed. It went on to add the fiction that response time is often slow and could take days. But the reality is that this same Amnesty International will accuse troops of war crime in situation when they are able to engage the killers in gun battle – they accuse the military of killing civilians when the killers get killed. This scenario is as confusing as it is harebrained. One minute it is the military is not doing anything, the next minute it is that the military has used excessive force.
“It is therefore apparent that the Amnesty International report has no connection with improving conditions of human rights in Nigeria. Rather, it appears aimed at:
“ Provide negative campaign material for the opposition, whose members are known to have severally been in contact with INEC staffers.
“Discredit the Nigerian Military as capable of securing the country when this same military has performed superlatively in the face of arms sales blockades motivated by Amnesty International.
“Re-ignite the farmers/herders’ clashes after several months of lull that is being explored to rebuild trust and relationship by the country.
“Create a failed nation where Amnesty International can sit back in the armchair to continue writing fictitious reports about “dire living conditions”.
“Bearing the foregoing in mind, we call on the international community to note the evil being perpetrated by Amnesty international in Nigeria. The world should note that the group is actively manufacturing dissent and crises that it is launching in Nigerian to the detriment of the rights of citizens here.
“What Amnesty International has done is worse than the actual farmers/herders’ crisis, which is to cause the warring parties to resume hostilities and escalate the killings. We have genuine concerns that people will resume murdering each other in response to the Amnesty International’s report. It is on this note that we categorically state that we shall hold Amnesty International responsible for any resumption of the farmers/herders’ crisis same as we will hold it liable for any reprisal that takes place in the aftermath of the publication.
“We warn that Amnesty International should immediately mitigate the crisis it has instigated failing which we shall activate citizens’ action against it within the limits permissible in the law. We will not watch helplessly while they destroy our country and run back to enjoy the blood money they have been paid to cause damage to Nigeria.
“We have accepted that Amnesty International is the latest terrorist group operating in Nigeria, harassing the government and law abiding citizens with its contrived crises. Let this international NGO know that Nigerians are not helpless when it comes to dealing with its excesses.”
Visit Theatre of War to Verify How Budget Was Spent, CESJET Challenges SERAP, EiE, BudgIT
Following ceaseless bickering over unsubstantiated facts on budget from certain organisations, renowned civil society group, Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency (CESJET) has backed the Nigerian Army.
The group has questioned the likes of Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Enough is Enough (EiE), and BudgIT who raised false alarm over the Army’s budget implementation in the last three years.
According to CESJET, these groups have no moral right to enquire into the military’s activities, especially as they are known to be sponsored by external fraternisation to destabilise the progress.
This was made known by Barrister Gbemisola Osaloni it’s Executive Director, in a press conference on Tuesday in Lagos.
Instead of indulge in falsehood CESJET, however, advised these group to visit the Theatre of Operations to get the needed information.
“ The Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency (CESJET), a civil society organisation at the vanguard for social justice and transparency in Nigeria, herby condemn in its totality the questionable call for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 budget implementation reports of the Nigeria Army by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Enough is Enough (EiE), and BudgIT,” Gbemisola quiered.
“CESJET as a first frowns at such a request coming from groups that are known for external fraternisation in the funding of their activities.
“ CESJET wishes to use this medium to inform the members of the unsuspecting public that the trio of Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, Enough is Enough and BudgIT might be carrying out a script from their oversees donors that have continually funded their operations, but hiding under the umbrella of advocates for transparency and good governance.
“In the years that civil society organisations crisscrossed North East Nigeria to demand better welfare for troops and as well as demand for transparency in the operations of the Nigeria Army, SERAP, EiE and BudgIT distanced themselves from such activities. Instead, they rely on desk research and hearsays when issuing statements.
“ CESJET also wishes to use this medium to challenge SERAP, EiE and BudgIT to undertake a trip to the Theatre of Operations to get the needed information as this would constitute a primary source of information.
“CESJET rejects the destabilizing moves by these organisations that know little or nothing about military operations in warfare. So to demand for budget implementation reports is not only an act of ignorance, but an attempt to cause a distraction which is most uncharitable in timing and intent.
“The likes of SERAP and BudgIT get their funding from organisations based outside the shores of the country and as such, it would not be farfetched if part of the payback would be to cause a distraction such as this in an attempt to create unnecessary tension in the polity.
“CESJET also views the call as against National interest and must be resisted by well-meaning Nigerians. Nigeria must question such a request that is capable of jeopardising the efforts of the Nigeria Army in its ongoing operations across the country.
“Furthermore, the information requested would not serve the national interest, public welfare, public interest and peace, human rights, good governance, transparency and accountability. But instead, it would advance the interest of their paymasters that are hell-bent on destabilizing Nigeria.
“The gains recorded by the Nigeria Army in the past three years are there for all to see especially in its operations in North East Nigeria and other parts of the country.
“CESJET wishes to state that it is appalling and a national disgrace on how SERAP, EiE, and BudgIT have allowed itself to be used against the interest of the country, probably in return for improved funding of their operations in the new year.”
2019: Atiku, Russia are partnering to rig presidential polls, Coalition for Nigeria reveals
As the presidential elections edge closer, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) desperation for power is becoming even more glaring.
It is this utter desperation that triggered the PDP and its candidate Atiku Abubakar into hiring Russian hackers to compromise the polls.
With the reported alliance gaining grounds last week, the Coalition for Nigeria (CN) has echoed that it is no mere idle talk neither is it some sort of conspiracy theory.
The group made this known in a press statement on Tuesday in Lagos.
According to Mr Dipo Samuel, its Secretary General, Mr Atiku has already released funds to facilitate his secret mission.
“When the then PDP aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, hired the United States firm and lobbyist, Brian Ballard to work for his emergence, we expressed concerns as to why the same man that helped US President Donald Trump to engage Russians in meddling with US elections has been brought into Nigeria. It is now glaring that Brain Ballard is not here to consult and deliver transparent strategy. Ballard was engaged purely to secure the services of Russian hackers to meddle in the electoral process, hack INEC, rig the elections in favour of the PDP and ply citizens with dangerous propaganda.
“As part of Ballard’s strategies being implemented, we further gathered that certain internal changes have been made at INEC to strategically position certain officials in posts that will enable them compromise that organization’s cyber security. These officials are known to be PDP sympathizers. Their brief is to make sure that the security upgrades that will ward off attempts to hack the Commission’s servers are not implemented. The plan is for them to feign administrative lapses and inefficiency that will ensure such patches are not addressed.
“We understand that Ballard’s contract is for a period of one year when the elections were a mere months away at the time he was engaged. The reason is that he is meant to stay on to coordinate a hate campaign against the government after the PDP has lost the election. This is really worrisome because such damaging campaign played a critical role in depressing Nigeria’s economy by discouraging investors’ interest in Nigeria. The PDP is again geared to repeat the same attack on the viability of the country.
“Coalition for Nigeria is therefore drawing the world’s attention to the rat infested firewood that the PDP with its Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has brought home by way of commissioning Russian agents to collapse democracy in Nigeria. We believe the whole world should be worried and seriously so:
“When the possibility of Russia’s meddling in the US Elections was first raised it was dismissed as mere suspicion by many while others placed such allegation in the realm of fiction. The picture is clearer today and there has been conclusive proofs that Russia did meddle in the process to make Donald Trump win to emerge president. What is still unfolding is the extent of damage done to the US electoral and political process as the fallouts from the interference still reverberate in that country. It has produced outcomes that are directly threatening confidence in the process while questions are seriously being asked about how to get out of the bind the incident has plunged the country into.
CAN, however, urged INEC to take some measures.
“ INEC must immediately take steps to guarantee the integrity of its servers and protect them from intrusions and cyber-attacks. The electoral body must also vet afresh all those that occupy sensitive positions and senior officials with decision making capacity. Once it has done the needful, INEC must then brief Nigerians to reassure citizens that it will not allow Russia repeat the stunt it pulled in the United States here in Nigeria.
“The federal government must immediately step up diplomatic efforts to get assurances from Russia that it will not, as a nation, interfere in the conduct of Nigeria’s elections while also warning its nationals against taking briefs that could jeopardize relations with Nigeria. Government must also work with other countries to put the pressure on Russia.
“The Nigerian Immigration Service in conjunction with the Department of State Service (DSS) should intensify the screening of aliens arriving the country to ensure that free passage is not given to potential hackers to come and do damage here. The screening should take into account aliens that might have already set up in the country before this discovery was made and those from countries that are proxies from Russia.
“The PDP should call off its brief to sabotage the elections and apologise to Nigerians. Where the party continues to work on rigging the elections, INEC should wake up to its responsibility and invoke the necessary clauses in the Electoral Act and INEC Act.
“ We urge Nigerians to unite across party lines and condemn this evil plot. They should tell PDP and Atiku in clear terms that they have crossed the line in the matter of hiring foreigners to destroy Nigeria. It beats logic that a party can be desperate enough about winning elections that it is prepared to govern a graveyard nation”.
No election will be annulled in Nigeria again-Femi Falana
Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), says no leader in Nigeria can annul elections in the country as was the case in 1993.
Falana disclosed this at the inauguration of the League of Anambra Professionals Legal Defence Initiative, held in Lagos according to a statement on Monday.
The lawyer added that for fear of ICC, no Nigerian leader dared annul election again like a former Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd.), did in 1993.
He also dismissed the fear that President Muhammadu Buhari might be unwilling to leave office if he should lose next year’s election.
Falana said, “Unlike in 1993 when the military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, successfully annulled an election, that is no longer possible.
“Whoever does that now will end up in The Hague. He is likely to be tried for crimes against humanity because if you annul an election, you are likely to have a monumental violence in the country which will lead to crimes against humanity.
“Before the 2015 elections, the ICC warned that if there was any problem in Nigeria, anybody who was responsible would be arrested and charged like former President Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d’Ivoire. That was the atmosphere under which President Goodluck conceded victory.”
Falana said he decided to speak on the issue in order to assure Nigerians that election could no longer be annulled in Nigeria.
This, he said, was important because of the fear that had been expressed that if Buhari lost election, he might not want to hand over.
“That belongs to the past,” he declared.
Osinbajo in Austria for Africa, Europe heads of government meeting
Vice President’s spokesman Laolu Akande, in a statement on Monday in Abuja, said the forum was hosted by the Austrian government on behalf of the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU).
Osinbajo would be speaking on the theme of the forum, ‘Taking Cooperation to the Digital Age’ holding from Dec. 17 to Dec. 18.
According to the organisers in the EU and AU, the forum would promote innovation and digitalisation as important enablers of future development, so that everyone can benefit from the ongoing digital transformation.
It would assess how the partnerships between Africa and Europe contribute to this goal and complement the ongoing implementation of the joint declaration of the 2017 Abidjan Summit between the AU and the EU.
The declaration among other things highlighted the importance of unlocking the potential of the digital economy for Africa and Europe.
It also aimed at contributing to the Africa-Europe Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs.
In Vienna, Osinbajo would hold a town-hall meeting with the Nigerian community in Austria; and also attend several bilateral meetings with European government leaders.
Some of the European government leaders are the Prime Minister of Czech Republic, Andrej Babis; Prime Minister of Finland, Juha Sipilä; the Federal Chancellor of Austria, Sebastian Kurz; and the UK Minister for Africa, Harriet Baldwin.
Osinbajo would also meet with top officials of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Buhari reiterate commitment to end insecurity in Lake Chad basin
Presidents Muhammadu Buhari, Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger and Idriss Deby Itno of Chad have renewed their commitment to fight the Boko Haram terrorists and bring their insurgency to an end.
The leaders, along with President Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic, Patrice Talon of the Republic of Benin and Prime Minister of Cameroon, Philemon Yang, made the vow in Abuja Saturday, at the meeting of Heads of State and Government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC).
It was their second meeting in three weeks, following another meeting in N’djamena at the end of November.
Also at the Abuja meeting were the Ministers of Defence of Lake Chad Basin Commission Member Countries and the Chiefs of Defence Staff of Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin Republic
The African leaders made their position known in a communiqué issued at the end of the summit convened by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Executive Secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, Mamman Nuhu, read the English version of the communique.
The regional leaders agreed to seek the support of the community leaders to strengthen the fight against terrorism.
The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to the accelerated implementation of the Regional Stabilisation Strategy in the areas of Lake Chad affected by the Boko Haram crisis.
The Regional Stabilisation Strategy was recently endorsed by the African Union Peace and Security Council.
They, therefore, agreed to implement the Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) within the limit of available resources to provide immediate relief to the communities affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.
While expressing appreciation to the African Union Peace and Security Council for renewing the yearly mandate of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) for the year 2019, the leaders also commended LCBC partners and international community for their support and contributions.
They, however, urged them to extend additional assistance to the LCBC/MNJTF to eradicate the Boko Haram insurgency and to reinforce global peace and security.
The regional leaders also directed the Committee of the Chiefs of Defence Staff to meet regularly to assess the security situation and the efforts being made to bring an end to the insurgency.
They also thanked President Buhari for his inspiring leadership as Chairman of the Summit of Heads of State and Government of Lake Chad Basin Commission.
PMB thank Nigerians for celebrating him at 76
President Muhammadu Buhari, who marked his 76th birthday today has penned an appreciation note to all Nigerians thanking them for the show of love and prayers on his special day.
He also seized the opportunity to renew his pledge to serve Nigerians diligently and take the country to greater heights or as his re-election campaign will put it, the Next Level.
Read the personal letter of President Buhari:
Dear Nigerians/Friends –
It’s been my joy and honour to serve our country, Nigeria, for most of my life.
As I turned 76 today, I am deeply grateful for all the prayers, goodwill messages and encouragement from Nigerians and friends, at home and abroad.
Life is better lived together in peace, unity and prosperity.
In all, I give glory to almighty Allah for mercies, and thanks to Nigerians for counting me worthy to serve them. It is something I have rededicated myself to, and will do to the very best of my ability.
Nigeria has all the potentials for greatness. Our greatness as individuals will only derive from Nigeria’s greatness. So, on this special day, I commit myself again to the task of taking our country to greater heights, and invite you to partner with me in that worthy cause.
Why we love President Buhari
By FEMI ADESINA“That’s him, that’s him,” the two old women, wrinkled and bent with age, exclaimed. You could see wonderment and fulfillment in their eyes. And as if on cue, they both began to cry.
It was in Bauchi earlier this year. President Muhammadu Buhari was visiting to commiserate with the people on the ravages of windstorm, which had destroyed many homes and other property. As he waved at the tumultuous crowd, the two women saw him, perhaps for the first time in their lives. And so great was their satisfaction, their pure joy, that they began to cry.
That is the kind of emotion that courses through millions and millions of Nigerians when they behold their President, the honest man (mai gaskiya), the man of integrity, man of accountability, one whose word you can take to the bank. The man who loves them, and they love and trust in return.
Don’t misunderstand me. Not all estimated 196 million Nigerians share this sentiment. Not possible. There are those who are passionately opposed to the President. They are a very vocal minority, who abhor his integrity, hate his sense of accountability, and even want him dead. But we are not talking about those who Fela Anikulapo-Kuti called “opposite people.” On this day of his 76th birthday, we are talking of the teeming masses who love Buhari, and who can go to the ends of the earth for him.
Why do they love Buhari? Or better still, why do we love Buhari? The old, the young, men, women, boy, girl, the strong, the infirm. Why do we love the tall man from Daura? For many reasons.
I have said it before, and say it again. It will take a while before Nigeria will see another political leader with such ability to pull an unsolicited and uninduced crowd like Muhammadu Buhari. Anywhere he goes, he doesn’t have to procure the crowd. They turn out in their numbers to see and hear him. They will trek from Africa to China, walk from Cape Town to Cairo, all to see, hear and cheer the man they love.
Why?
Many reasons. He is an honest man. My father, that stern educationist, who ran the home and the schools he administered with an iron hand, used to tell us: “Honesty is the best policy.” That was true over 50 years ago when he drummed it into our ears, and it is still true today. And will remain true tomorrow, and forever. That is why we love Buhari. He is an honest man, who will tell the truth to his own hurt.
At a recent meeting with governors, while discussing the seemingly knotty issue of minimum wage, the President told them to level with him. He said he knew that general elections were by the corner, “but I don’t like to lie to anybody. I will still like to tell Nigerians the truth, and nothing but the truth, as to what we can truly afford to pay.” Consultations are still ongoing.
Some people will give you fibs, just because they want to hoodwink you, and get your votes. They will announce that they’ve increased the salaries of fictitious workers, even when truly they are owing many of their employees. But not President Buhari. Nothing for him is a matter of life and death. Truth is the best thing in a man’s keeping. Make yourself an honest man, and there is one rascal less in the world. That is why we love the man.
Accountability. I will never forget a promise Buhari made to the crowd at a campaign rally in Lagos in 2011, when he ran with Pastor Tunde Bakare of Latter Rain Assembly. Two honest men. “Every kobo that comes into the treasury will be used for the good of Nigerians.” That’s the accountable man, who would not dip his hands into the treasury for private gains, who will not line his pocket at the expense of the people. That is why we love him.
Just over a week ago, I met a man who was an accountant at the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), when the then Gen. Buhari was chairman. Executive Chairman, who could do anything he wanted, since the place was awash with billions of petrol money.
“I told him his salary would be N200,000 monthly,” the man recounted.
“He said it was too much, since he still drew pension from public coffers as a retired General and former head of state. I don’t know how he calculated it, but he said he would rather be paid N84,000 monthly. And that was what he earned.”
Yet some people say don’t follow this honest man. Till he has one tooth left in his mouth, and is bent double over his walking stick, we will, no matter what they say. Honesty is still the best policy. Today, tomorrow, and forever.
See all the positions he has held in this country. Governor of North-east, then made up of what is now six states. Minister of Petroleum for over three years. Head of State for 20 months. Chairman of PTF for many years. Yet he remains a man of modest means. That is why we love him.
In the early days of this administration, when oil prices had crashed to as low as 39 dollars per barrel (from as high as 115 in preceding years, stabilizing at over $100 for a long time, yet we had no savings, no reserves), it was usually a spectacle to see the President and the then Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, seated and apportioning funds for the week. Depending on what was in the coffers, they prioritized spending, just like traders with low capital base.
Nigeria had been run into a hole. No reserve for the rainy day, and we were being badly beaten by the rain. Yet salaries must be paid as at when due. At least 27 states could not meet their obligations, till President Buhari gave them a lifeline. And then, one day, a counsel was given at a meeting: “This is the time to ideally cut the strength of the federal civil service by at least half, as we may not be able to carry the load for long.” It made a lot of fiscal sense. But to the President, it was nonsense. “If it lies within my powers, I will ensure that no single person loses his or her job. Yes, it may be the right thing to do, looking at the state of our finances, but I won’t do it,” President Buhari said.
And you say we shouldn’t love this President? We will love him till Africa and China meet.
A confederacy has arrayed itself against the honest man. A crooked confederacy. Anybody that is anybody in the pantheon of questionable character is there. Are Nigerians fools? After their eyes have been opened, will they willfully afflict themselves with blindness again? Not on their lives! The country will never go back to the slave market. Not after we have known prudence, experienced accountability, and we are are inching out of the morass in which we were soused and marooned.
For more than five decades, mere lip service was paid to diversification of the economy. But we remained a mono-product country. Oil. So, whenever the price of oil crashed in the international market, we simply crashed with it. Now gradually, and inexorably, we are on the road to a diversified economy. Wonders are being done in agriculture. Mining is flexing muscles. Manufacturing is showing prospects. All in less than four years.
What of infrastructure? The sum of N2.7 trillion spent in two years. The roads are roaring to life. The rail is snaking in. Power is powering back. Wonders are being unfolded in different parts of the country. And we shouldn’t love this President? We will, no matter what the naysayers say.
Hear pensioners rejoice: This is the best administration we’ve had since the advent of Contributory Pension Scheme 14 years ago.
Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State spoke at a meeting of governors with the President last Friday. He said since the creation of the state, this was the first time pensioners were being paid, adding that pension liabilities have been cleared by about 40%. Just because there is a President that cares.
Former Nigeria Airways workers. Railway workers. Former Biafran policemen. And many others, have had their pensions paid. And we shouldn’t love the ‘birthday man?’ They should tell it to the marines.
When you have a heart for men, it is God himself that keeps you alive. We have seen a practical demonstration in President Buhari.
From the brink of death early 2017, there is now an unmistakable glow in him, evidence of good health from the inside. It is God at work. No wonder wicked people came with the idiocy of Jubril of Sudan. Otiose. Hollow. Products of addled minds. That was why we ignored them, till the President himself responded to a question from Nigerians in Poland two weeks ago.
And you know what? Our love for this President is at no cost. No charge. Whether we work for him, and for him, or we don’t, the real cost of our love is no charge.
Do you know that classic song, No Charge, made popular by Shirley Caesar and Sonia Spence? It told the story of a small boy who decided to charge his mum for all that he considered favours he had done her.
“For mowing the yard, five dollars
And for making my own room this week, one dollar
For going to the store, 50 cents
And playing with little brother while you went shopping, 25 cents
Taking out the trash, one dollar
And for getting a good report card, five dollars
For raking the yard, two dollars
Total owed, fourteen seventy-five.”
The woman looked at her son, standing there expectantly. Then she collected the paper from him, and wrote on it:
“For the nine months I carried you,
Growing inside me, no charge
For the nights I sat up with you
Doctored you, prayed for you, no charge
For the time and tears, and the cost through the years, no charge
When you add it all up, the full cost of my love is no charge.”
For millions upon millions of Nigerians who love this President, it is an unconditional love. The full cost of our love is no charge. Happy birthday, Mr President.
Adesina is Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity
Threat To Democracy: Keep Shehu Sani Under Watch, Danjuma Warns Security Agencies
The National Council of Elders has called on security agencies to closely watch the lawmaker for Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Senator Shehu Sani, who it described as having graduated from being a comical rabble rouser into a chronic inciter of violence.
President of the council, Elder Anthony Danjuma, who stated this while speaking in Kaduna on Monday, expressed concern that Shehu Sani is being encouraged by the failure of the country to hold him accountable for the scores of deaths from the crises he recently instigated in Kaduna state.
Danjuma warned that a failure to place Shehu Sani on a watch list means trouble for the country since there is now sufficient proof from his social media accounts that he is working hard to truncate the democratic process in Nigeria.
The elder statesman expressed consternation that the Kaduna Central Senator is abusing the privileges of being a federal lawmaker to promote hate speech on a scale that would have landed any other ordinary citizen in jail.
According to Danjuma, “Senator Shehu Sani went on his Twitter handle to cast aspersion and doubts on an election that has not even been conducted knowing that the free and fair conduct of the polls is critical to the peace of the country. A situation where someone of the stature of a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria can send such message to his followers to doubt the current administration’s commitment to free and transparent elections is a pure case of call to insurrection.
“This call to violence and disruption of the electoral process is particularly irresponsible when weighed against the background that Shehu Sani is profoundly aware that his Tweets are largely responsible for the crises that rocked Kaduna state this year leading to dozens of deaths.
“Whatever grouse he has with his state governor does not justify trying to set Nigeria ablaze after almost destroying his own state. Except he wants to tell us that his new pastime is sucking human blood, there is no justification for priming citizens to reject a elections that are yet to hold,” Elder Danjuma charged.
The President of the National Council of Elders insisted that security agencies must watch Shehu Sani closely to ensure he does not truncate Nigeria’s democracy, since the collapse of previous republics in the country is usually triggered from one state.
Danjuma lamented that “We do not know why security agencies have to wait for elders to make interventions like we are doing now before they will realize they have to go after persons that openly incite other Nigerians to violence while making it appear as I he genuinely loves the country. Had he not been found wanting and pushed from grace in his former political party, we wonder if he would be running around as he is currently doing.
“Our expectation is that security agencies will invite Shehu Sani to explain how he arrived at the conclusion that the elections will not be free and fair since there is nothing on ground to justify the spurious allegations he is making with all the assertion of the electoral body.
“Authorities must also note that they cannot run the affairs of the country with two sets of rules, one for Shehu Sani with other trouble makers that are never held to account for their utterances and one for other Nigerians that are made to answer for their words each time they step out of line,” Danjuma stressed.