HURIWA Decries Attacks on Otti, Burning of Election Materials

Former APGA governorship candidate, Mr. Alex Otti

Senator Iroegbu in Abuja
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has decried the alleged incessant attacks on the person and properties of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate in the April 11 polls, Mr. Alex Otti.

The Executive Director of HURIWA, Mr. Emmanuel Onwubiko, in an interview with THISDAY yesterday called for full and thorough police investigation into the allegations of violence against Otti.
Onwubiko deplored the situation where one of the parties contesting the results of the governorship elections at the tribunal was being harassed and intimidated using state funds.

He also queried the laxity of Police at investigating the incidence and as well as providing the needed security to the APGA gubernatorial candidate. He  questioned the seeming interference of the Abia state Governor in the whole attack saga.

According to him: "HURIWA is worried by the trend that the political situation in Abia State is taking. We are not going to have incessant attacks targeting the APGA candidate in Abia State Governorship election, in the person of Mr. Alex Otti and on two occasions his life has been endangered; the first instance that we got the report was that he was attacked... that his house in Abuja was attacked.

"The police that ought to conduct professional and dispassionate criminal investigation to determine what actually happened did not do so. We were the first to go with some journalist to actually report it, which is the constitutional thing to do under section 22 of the constitution. For us, it was like an attempt on the life of  Otti but surprisingly even before the official statement from the FCT police command, one of the spokesperson that is attached to the office of governor of Abia State issued a statement disputing a claim that the house of the APGA governorship candidate was attacked."

"What is the interest of the Abia State government, were they accused of masterminding the attack, was any proper investigation carried out, what was the outcome of the forensic investigation that was carried out? Why would the governor of a state be the one that will be issuing statement denying that there was nothing like attack against the person of Alex Otti? In fact that the robbery took place  where Otti lives. Is the Abia State government now member of the federal police that even the man who claim to be the spokesman of Abia State government was quoting the police spokesman, does that man work with the police?" 

Speaking further on the issue of security, Onwubiko expressed disapproval on the failure of the security agencies to protect the election materials used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the gubernatorial polls.

He noted that a case whereby the electoral materials were allowed to he burnt down, "is totally unacceptable".
He said: "What is the security operatives doing to make sure that INEC offices are well protected and there is nothing on ground to show that Nigeria Police Force has good enough proactive measures to stop arsonist from attacking INEC facilities in Abia State. It has happened and there are fears/alarms that have been raised in all over the place in Abia to attack some other INEC offices.

"In a serious minded country and in other countries they take the matter of security very serious when such a scenario arises, it is the duty of the police force of that country or the police force of that particular state to map out strategies to prevent occurrence of such premeditated and targeted attacks against such strategic facilities of the electoral panel that are needed to prove or disprove the matter that has been going on before a competent election tribunal.", he said

"The police needs to work out effective and comprehensive strategies on how to protect the essential facilities to INEC because the reason why this has to be done is for the fact that we need to effectively protect the sensitive and integrity of the process and if an election has happened and there are disputes from wherever parties, it is the duty of the state  to make sure that manpower that are trained professionally to protect the lives and property are put into the immediate alert to prevent any attempt or any subterranean plot to undermine the process."

Onwubiko warned that "the fastest way to undermine the judicial process in this kind of election related matters is to burn down the INEC office where vital materials that are needed for evidence to prove or disprove cases that are going on in those tribunals to burn it down whichever party did that does not want the facts to be known".

In a related development, Onwubiko also called for constitutional and judicial amendment that would prevent the defendants in election tribunal, usually the incumbent governors from using the state funds to their advantage in the prosecution of the trial.

He argued that the use of state resources by the governors coupled with the fact that the tribunal is sited within the state does not put their challengers on equal footing. As a way out of this, the HURIWA boss called the review of the process whereby trials are completed before the legally and constitutionally declared winner are declared and sworn in.

He noted: "We are concerned because first as a human rights organisation that is seriously concerned about promoting equity, equality and fairness and we think in Nigeria we could begin to redesign a new legal framework on how to approach political litigation.

" It is immoral for two people who have set to run for an election; maybe one of them is declared winner and the other person who feels that his rights have been abridged decided to go to court to seek for redress, not be allowed to go to court as equal partners. Why should the other one be going there as executive governor using all the financial muscles legally or illegally in fact illegally because there is no budget in the state that has a subhead for political litigation that has to do with the person of a sitting governor."

" So, if the governor is in all cases using the state’s fund, people’s fund to prosecute his case in the election tribunal that’s unconstitutional and illegal crime. This is why most of us have been clamouring that if we really want Nigeria to run properly, we should throwaway section 308 of the constitution that provides immunity and freedom from prosecution so that everybody would be on equal page or clean page".