The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday called on the international community to impose a travel ban on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and other officials of the commission as well as some top officials of the Nigeria Police Force for their perceived roles in the Bayelsa and Kogi States governorship elections.
The party also called on INEC to cancel the two governorship and Kogi West senatorial elections for the brazen rigging, violence and thuggery that marked the November 16 polls.
PDP also dismissed reports of its plan to sanction former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, for allegedly aligning with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to defeat the party’s governorship candidate in last Saturday’s election. Jonathan, it added, remained a respected leader of the party.
These were the high points of a press conference addressed yesterday by its National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus.
Secondus said: “The PDP, therefore, calls on the international community as well as international organisations including, the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), Commonwealth of Nations, the African Union (AU), and ECOWAS to immediately impose sanctions, including travel bans on the INEC and the police high command for abusing their offices and aiding or allowing acts that led to electoral fraud and violence in the elections.
“The primary duty of INEC and the police is to ensure free, fair and credible election. This, they observed in the breach as reported by agents, voters, stakeholders and independent observers in the elections. They must, therefore, be made to face the consequences to serve as deterrent to others.”
Secondus said the wave of terror that took place during the November 16 elections, was threatening democracy, constitutional order, national cohesion and safety of citizens.
“As the world witnessed, the official conspiracies, bloodletting and mindless killing of innocent citizens by agents of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration in connivance with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to aid the forceful seizure of power in the November 16th Kogi and Bayelsa State governorship elections, clearly show that our democracy is under severe attack,” he said.
He accused the police, the military and INEC of working for the APC by deploying assault weapons, including helicopters, to coordinate the violent invasion of polling units.
The party alleged that maximum force, shooting, killing and maiming of unarmed civilians took place against people, who came out to perform their civic responsibilities at the elections.
According to him, killer security agents brutalised voters and carted away ballot boxes to government facilities where results were written in favour of the APC and handed to INEC officials to announce.
He said: “From the report reaching our party, no fewer than 30 innocent compatriots were killed and many more injured in this organised crime against humanity by the APC, the police and INEC.
“The only crime of the citizens was their expressed determination to vote for the candidates of their choice as governors of Kogi and Bayelsa States as clearly manifested in the results from the polling centre before the forcible seizure of the electoral processes.
“Most distressing is the gruesome incineration of one of our party’s woman leaders in Kogi State, Mrs. Acheju Abuh, in her home by APC thugs, a crime that was abetted by unscrupulous security agents.”
He said the PDP would not allow the crimes to pass.
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