A pro-democracy organization,
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has asked international
community to issue travel bans on President Muhammadu Buharu and his close
officials over the suspension of Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN Walter Onnoghen.
HURIWA in a statement urged EU and the UK to withhold travel ban against
Buhari until he restores Justice Onnoghen to his position and show evidence of
his willingness to stop “his serial undermining of the democratic authorities
and independence of the legislature and the judiciary and halt the serial abuse
of power by his government.”
The group also condemned the
Presidency for rejecting counsels from the international community in regards
to Onnoghen’s suspension
Buhari had in a statement issued
by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba
Shehu on Saturday, warned against foreign interference into the nation’s
affairs, capable of creating apprehension, distrust among citizens or undermining
the transparency and acceptability of outcomes of the nation’s electoral
process.
HURIWA dismissed the reaction of
the Buhari’s administration to the statements from international community as
empty arrogance of a dictator.
The statement read: “HURIWA has
asked the global leaders like the United States of America; United Kingdom;
Canada; France; Germany and Australia to immediatelly slam diplomatic sanctions
including travel bans on President Muhammadu Buhari and his top officials until
the Nigerian government demonstrates transparent willingness to allow for the
free; fair, transparent and peaceful conduct by an independent electoral
arbiter of the February 16th Presidential election and the subsequent sub-
national amd national polls in March.
“President Muhammadu Buhari’s
administration has dethroned the legally constituted head of the Nigerian
judiciary and supplanted an acting Chief Justice whose wife is reportedly and
allegedly a Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Bauchi
State which incidentally is the state of origin of the Chairman of the
Independent National Electoral Commission Mahmood Yakubu who appears too weak
to assert the autonomy of the electoral commission and resist the mounting
pressure from the incumbent to manipulate the electoral process to favour the
All Progressives Congress.
“HURIWA condemns the Nigerian
Presidency for the irrational, Illogical; unsound and unbriddled response it
gave to the International community in the wake of the series of public
diplomatic statements from the USA; UK and European union expressing grave concerns
that the illegal removal of the substantive Chief justice of Nigeria Mr Justice
Walter Onnoghen and his replacement by a Presidency’s handpicked replacemen
Tanko Mohammed only few days to the polls would undermine the credibility of
the forthcoming elections.
“HURIWA faults the President
Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for asking that the international community
not to interfere in Nigeria’s internal affairs just as HURIWA stated that the
electoral commission which will conduct the elections- Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) is receiving funding and technical assistance from
those nations and since Nigeria is not an island given that it is a member of
several international organisations such as the United Nations and the African
Union amongst many others in which the Country subscribes to several global
treaties and conventions to protect and promote democracy and defend human
rights, the Nigerian Presidency must keep to those values or expect
international scrutiny including severe sanctions targeting government
officials should the government deliberately deviates from those international
legally binding obligations.
“HURIWA urges the World leaders
to maintain the tempo of international pressure so President Muhammadu Buhari
does not undermine democracy, destabilise the Country and create spectacular
refugee crisis for Africa because if the election is rigged the Country might
witness cocktails of violence that may spiral out of control.
“HURIWA recalled that the
presidency had reacted to the position of both the United States of America and
the European Union on the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter
Onnoghen just as the Rights group recalled that a statement by the Senior
Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba
Shehu, noted that as much as Nigeria welcomes prevailing interests and
partnerships for successful 2019 general elections, the government would not
condone unfair interference in matters that are wholly internal.
“HURIWA recalled that prior to
the latest statements on the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the
U.S. and the UK had earlier on Thursday threatened to ban from entering their
countries any Nigerian found guilty of instigating violence during the election
or anyone engaging in rigging the process.”
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