ONITSHA (Sundiata Post) – Human rights group, the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety) has said that its investigations indicate that “rigger-politicians”, former loyalists or deserters of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Nigerian Police have questions to answer concerning the spate of killings in Anambra State.
In a statement made available to Sundiata Post on Thursday, Intersociety said the aim of the perpetrators of the violence was to scare away voters in order to scientifically rig the Anambra State governorship election scheduled to hold on November 6, 2021.
The group condemned the killing on Tuesday of Dr. Chike Akunyili, husband of the late hugely respected Prof. Dora Akunyili, saying the security agencies have failed to live up to expectation.
The full statement reads:
It is the investigative finding and strong position of the Int’l Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law that the trio of rigger-politicians, former IPOB ‘Comrades’ (Renegades) and the Nigeria Police Force have strong questions to answer with regard to the new wave and maddening rate of killing of defenceless citizens and infliction of fears, panics and apprehensions on the general citizens of Anambra State. These latest dastardly acts are geared towards scaring and chasing independent voters away so as to scientifically rig the Nov 6 governorship poll. As was the case in the November 2017 governorship election, the rigging, this time, is also perpetrated through ‘massive procurement and uploading of PVCs (as “valid votes cast”) as well as widespread vote buying on election day”. By our recent investigation, the results of the Nov 6 governorship election are already perfected and stored in secret safe custody and the more number of independent voters scared away from voting, the chances of the million tag ‘dead votes’ seeing the light of the day and the more number of independent voters who are able or willing to vote, the slim chances for the survival of the ‘dead votes’.
Killings: Police, Other Security Agencies Have Failed Woefully:
Intersociety hereby strongly condemns the brutal killing of Dr. Chike Akunyili, beloved husband of the late Prof Dora Akunyili, a respected and revered former Director-General of NAFDAC and Minister of the Government of Nigeria. Strongly condemned too are other senseless killings and other forms of offensive violence in the State in recent weeks, leading to the death of not less than ten unarmed citizens and burning of automobiles, etc.
The competence and capacity of the Nigerian government and its security forces to fish out those responsible are seriously in doubt. It particularly saddens our heart that the Nigerian security agencies particularly the Nigeria Police Force have declared full war and enmity on innocent and defenceless citizens of the country and turned their publicly procured arms and ammunition and skills, if any, in aid and protection of criminal citizens and criminal entities.
At Onitsha Niger Bridgehead by Conoil Filling Station, for instance, Mobile Police Personnel of the Anambra State Police Command supposedly deployed to checkmate the killings and other forms of offensive violence are busy chasing, harassing and extorting haulage vehicles, commercial passenger buses and private motorists as well as tricycles and pedestrians carrying food items.
Role Of Out-Service IPOB Renegades:
By ‘renegades’, it is referred to “a person or group of persons that deserts or desert and betrays or betray an organisation and its set of principles or codes and chooses or choose to operate outside the confines and dictates of the organisation”. Therefore, those referred to as “former IPOB ‘comrades” or “renegades” are those that fell out with the mainstream IPOB and distanced themselves from the rules and principles of the organisation such as principles forbidding the killing of unarmed and non-violent civilian citizens particularly those of Judeo-Christian faith and ethnic identity. They may also include some aggrieved former IPOB ‘comrades’ who may have left and formed discreet variant IPOB groups with ‘extremist radicalism’ such as indiscriminate use of offensive violence and resort to ostentatious materialism as their modus operandi. In other words, they are best referred to as “out-service IPOB-ESN deviants”. The involvement of Nigerian government execution or hit squads for purpose of impersonating, stigmatising and criminalising IPOB and ESN is also not ruled out. Former IPOB ‘comrades’ or renegades are also behind the enforcement of the ‘Monday Sit-at-Home’ across Igbo land despite same been repeatedly banned or suspended by the leadership of IPOB.
Alliance With Rigger-Politicians To Rig Anambra Poll:
Circumstantially aided by rigger-politicians ahead of the Nov 6 governorship election, former IPOB “comrades” or renegades are most likely to have access to arms and some converts from “ESN deviants” tutored in the knowledge of use of small arms and light weapons. With resort to indiscriminate use of small arms and other forms of offensive violence, anybody including the recently murdered Dr. Chike Akunyiri and some political parties’ agents and burning of their campaign vehicles, can be their targeted or collateral victims. Because they are semi independent and not armed political thugs recruited, paid and controlled by rigger-politicians, controlling them especially in the area of use of arms and other forms of offensive violence may be difficult. Rigger-politicians may also be interested or restricted to using them to scare and chase away majority of the voters so as to have a field day at “winning” with procured PVCs and votes Therefore, in truth and fairness to IPOB leadership, the organisation is not involved in the ongoing spate of killings and other forms of offensive violence in Anambra State.
Rigging Strategies Of The Anambra Rigger-Politicians:
It is a truism that the results of the Anambra’s Nov 2017 Governorship Poll were majorly a combination of scientific rigging and mechanical demography through massive vote buying. They were too far from reflecting the true wishes of the majority of the independent and conscientious voters of the State residency. The scientific rigging was perpetrated and perfected through widespread procurement of PVCs and uploading of same via INEC servers as “validly cast votes” and legitimised by thump-printing of ballot papers in secret places to tally with the number of the uploaded PVCs. This was to the extent that a total of 8,540 ballot papers could not be thump-printed, only for INEC to turn around and falsely declare them as “8,540 accredited voters who did not vote”.
The scientific rigging and massive vote buying then were made possible by IPOB’s declaration of “no more elections in Anambra State” as well as tensions, panics and fears created by deployed security agencies through issuance of security threats and threats and show of force, forcing majority of the voters to stay indoors. Today, rigger-politicians, the renegades and the security agencies particularly the Nigeria Police Force are back and at it again. They are not only creating fears and tensions but are also aligning with offensive violent groups to scare conscientious voters away and allow rigger-politicians a field day to rig scientifically through procurement and uploading of PVCs and manually through massive thump-printing of ballot papers ahead of the election and widespread vote buying on election day. This is to the extent that one million “dead votes” may be lying somewhere in Imo State waiting for release in the morning of Nov 7 as “votes scored by a candidate that scored the highest lawful votes cast”. Therefore, it may be correct to say that INEC’s Imo facilities have already been in use before the announcement of intent to use same.
Signed:
Emeka Umeagbalalsi, Obianuju Igboeli, Chidimma Udegbunam.
