Civil society group, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), has made a petition calling on the United States of America, United Kingdom, and European countries to impose a visa ban on the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, and other 43 top INEC staff for allegedly rigging the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections in Nigeria.
The petition was made to 31 key foreign missions in Nigeria, representing the world’s best and most powerful democracies including the Head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria/ECOWAS and Ambassadors or High Commissioners of the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, State of Israel, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Czech, Portugal, Norway, Finland, Austria, Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Australia, the Vatican, South Korea, Brazil, and Mexico.
In the letter dated Wednesday, 1st March 2023, Intersociety accused the 44 top INEC officials named in the petition of being " vicariously or directly involved in the INEC in-house brutal rigging of the 2023 Presidential poll. "
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
INEC officials named in the petition are - "Prof Mahmood Yakubu, INEC’s National Chairman,14 past and serving National Commissioners which include: Air Vice Marshal Ahmed Mua’zu (retd) (Gombe), Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu (Delta), Dr. Adekunle Ladipo Ogunmola (Oyo);
" Mallam Mohammed Kudu Haruna (Kano), Ukegbu Nnamdi (Abia), Major Gen Abubakar Alkali (retd) (Adamawa), Rhoda Gumus (Bayelsa), Sam Olumekun (Ondo), Barr Festus Okoye (Anambra), Kunle Ajayi (Ekiti), Muhammad Kallah (Borno), Dr. Baba Bila (North-East), Prof Sani Adam (North-Central) and Prof Abdullahi Abdu (North-West)."
The visa ban should also be imposed on another set of 37 past and serving 37 State Resident Electoral Commissioners, Intersociety said.
They are "Ibrahim Abdullahi (Adamawa State), Obo Effanga (Cross Rivers), Agboke Olaleke (Ogun), Prof Sam Egwu (Kogi), Onyeka Ugochi (Imo), Muhammad Bashir (Sokoto), Prof Ayobami Salami (Oyo), Olaniyi Ijalaye (Ondo), Muhammed Nura (Yobe), Zango Abdu (Katsina);
"Dr. Elizabeth Agwu (Ebonyi), Agundu Tarsoo (Benue), Yomere Onitsemlebi (Delta), Prof Yahaya Ibrahim (Kaduna), Nura Ali (Kano), Agu Uchenna (Enugu), Ahmed Garki (FCT), Hudu Yunusa (Bauchi), Prof Uzochukwu Chijoke (Anambra).
Also included are "Abdulganiyu Raji (Oyo), Risikuwa Shehu (Sokoto), Bello Mahmud (Zamfara), Nentawe Yilwada (Plateau), Umar Ibrahim (Taraba), Mustapha Zubairu (Niger), Asmau Maikudi (Katsina), James Apam (Benue), Godswill Obioma (Abia), Olusegun Agbaje (Lagos), Dr. Cyril Omorogbe (Edo State), Baba Yusuf (Borno);
"Dr. Uthman Ajidagba (Kwara), Yahaya Bello (Nasarawa), Dr. Emmanuel Hart (Rivers), Mohammed Ibrahim (Gombe), Mahmuda Isah (Kebbi) and Dr. Adediran Rahmon Tella (Osun). Two key Directors of INEC: Engineer Paul Omokere (Director of ICT) and Dr. Lawrence Bayode (Deputy Director of ICT) are among those blacklisted and petitioned against."
The civil society group further asked the missions to bar the named persons from intercountry and other international engagements and recognitions.
"We humbly requested to slam visa ban and other inter-country entry restrictions and block international engagements and recognitions in their names, particularly those involving the National Chairman of INEC (Prof Mahmood Yakubu), the National Commissioner for Voter Education who doubles as National Commissioner for Anambra, Imo and Enugu, Mr. Festus Okoye."
The petition was signed by the organization's principal officers - Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chinwe Umeche, Obianuju Joy, and Chidinma Udegbunam.
Intersociety also requested that the visa ban should include four state governors; Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, and David Umahi of Ebonyi State.
According to Intersociety, the four governors directly participated in widespread voter suppression and subversion of the sacred electoral wishes of Nigerians during Feb 25, 2023, Presidential Election.
The group made the following seven demands:
"Slam visa sanctions and other international travel, engagement, and recognition restrictions on the serving Gov of Imo State and office immunity losing (outgoing) Govs of Rivers, Kaduna, and Ebonyi States. Included in the list is Gov Yahaya Bello of Kogi State who will also be losing office immunity on 29th May 2023
"Repatriate all their stashed away material and human deposits and monetary valuable services (if any) traced and linked to the 44 top INEC officials and strongly suspected office atrocity perpetrator Govs named.
"Ensure that all members of their nuclear families living or holidaying or studying anywhere in the named respected countries and their assets and liabilities are speedily repatriated back to Nigeria and permanently embargoed from finding their way back to the respected countries.
"Particularly, Prof Mahmood Yakubu and Festus Okoye Esquire should be stripped of international forums and opportunities to speak emptily and noisily and stop from receiving undue international attention and recognitions, and permanently barred from traveling to any of the 31 respected Democratic countries named including their nuclear family members.
"Holistically review future funding and international democracy support funds to INEC and its rubberstamping CSOs including scholarships and sponsorship of their international visitations and exchange programs and speech deliveries.
"Downward review of funding of Election Day monitoring and upward review of supporting independent CSOs’ critical oversight on INEC especially during Continuous Voters’ Registration and Distribution of Permanent Voters’ Cards to discourage disenfranchisement and enhance enfranchisement
"Mount sufficient pressure and tying future democracy support funding to INEC on full digitalization of voting process or dualization of voting in the country or any part thereof 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 insisted.
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