I agree 100% with professor Toyin Falola that lives are sacrosanct everywhere in the world, including the USA where Black Lives Matter are still protesting against daily murders of Black people on racial ground. Professor Falola says shooting and killing of ballot box snatcher is primitive implying, conversely, that snatching ballot box is a civilised behaviour. On that view, I beg to disagree with my cherished Professor Falola who I know did not throw balls of ÀMÀLÀ soaked with GBÈGÌRÌ at opponents when he was engaged in ÀGBÈKÒYÀ in the 60s. That is why it cannot be credible for professor Falola to preach the gospel that if gun touting ballot box snatchers should slap the right side of the cheek of Nigerian security forces, the later should just turn the left side for more slap. Of course it is comfortable to preach turn the other cheek gospel if it is not ones own cheek that is being slap-banged. My philosophy is, no one should ever attempt to slap me and if anyone should attempt to do that, I will chop off the person's hands in order to permanently render the person incapable of ever slapping me. That is what civilised people around the world do.
Professor Falola extended the discussion to the alleged body bags statements credited to the Governor of Kaduna. Although, professor Falola doubted if the Governor actually advocated for unprovoked violence, he asserted that body bags advocacy, and regardless of its cause, is tantamount to impeachment. He backed his assertion up with the assumption that if the governor of the State of Texas where he lives were to say the same thing, the governor would have gone within 24 hours. Professor Falola's assumption is wrong because the governor of the State of Texas would not have needed to tell foreigners that if they come to Texas to foment troubles and incite violence, they would return to their home countries in body bags. This is because, in the State of Texas as in all States of the US, the fundamental human right of every citizen to own and carry guns is well entrenched in the Constitution. It is not only the doctrine of shoot me I shoot you that reigns but, very often, it is I shoot before you shoot me. Coming back to the core of this discussion, there has never been a reported case of ballot box snatching in the State of Texas during elections there. If I am wrong, I stand to be corrected. Here follows the link to what the governor of Kano State actually said about body bags. https://www.premiumtimesng.com/video/310838-for-the-record-what-el-rufai-actually-said-about-nigerian-elections-and-foreign-intervention.html
On the sacrosanct of life, the interrogative questions that come up are : Do all Nigerians believe that lives are sacrosanct and specifically, does ballot box snatchers believe that lives are sacrosanct? How are ballot boxes snatched, with smile and handshakes? What does ballot box snatchers want to achieve with their actions? What are the consequences of election ballot box snatching?
It baffles me a lot that instead of discussing ballot box- snatching free elections in Nigeria, as it is in all other democratic countries in the world, we engage ourselves in discussing what type of treatment should be meted out to ballot box snatchers as if to say they are integral and normal part of Nigeria's election voting system. Why are we, Nigerians, a people that always pray to God to give us light when it is our fellow Nigerians who steal funds appropriated to produce electric light for us? Ballot box snatchers are always armed and are prepared to kill, just like armed robbers, to accomplish snatching of ballot boxes.The aim of ballot box snatchers is to subvert the electoral will of majority of Nigerians and by their act to install a regime and a national assembly that contains members which majority of Nigerians have not voted for. The consequence of that can be illustrated with the statement credited to former President Olusegun Obasanjo which was purported to have been made at the fourth annual conference of the Academy for Entrepreneurial Studies, held in Lagos and reported by Jewel Stephen in the online Daily Times of 23 May 2012, under the title : Law Makers Are Rogues and Thieves. A part of the statement reads, "Integrity is necassary for all systems and institutions to be strong. Today, rogues and armed robbers are in the State Houses and the National Assembly. What sort of laws will they make?" The real murderers in Nigeria are the National Assembly members, Public officials and sex for mark professors. Consequently, Nigerians die daily in hundreds because of their actions.
Julius Eto asked : What if the inept weak then President G. Jonathan had called for the extra-judicial killing of ballot (box) snatchers? Would you have raised the alarm?
Former President Goodluck Jonathan would have been right to call for strict application of the provisions of the Constitution of Nigeria on ballot box snatchers and only shithole liberals would have objected to that. A major reason why Nigeria is for ever doomed is because debates and governance in the country are controlled by pseudo-liberals who always cry over calamities that befall us but not caring a hoot about the causes of those calamities. In the end the calamities become recurring decimals that we experience now and then. Ghana is relatively less corrupt today because of the bold step taken by Flight-Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings in 1979. Since the treasury looters of that time were all Ghanaians, Rawlings assembled ethnically Akan, Asante, Fante, Mole-Dagbon, Ewe, Ga-Dangme Guan, Gurman, Gursi, Mande-Busanga and others and constituted them into courts to try the treasury looters in their mother tongues. The accused treasury looters were compelled to explain in their mother tongues how they got the funds in their respective bank accounts and properties they had acquired both in Ghana and abroad. The Ghanaian millionaires on trial had no word for a million in their respective languages to explain millions of cedes and foreign currencies in their respective accounts. Sentencing the looters to death, the traditional judges summed up the number of people that have died in Ghana due to their looting of treasury. Therefore, Generals Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa , Fredric William Akuffo, as well as Joy Amedume, Yaw Boakye, Roger Felli, Kotei Utuka and Major Acquah were executed in 1979. In fact, Ghana Supreme Court Justices, Kwadjo Agyei Agyepong, Frederick Sarkodie, and Cecilia Koranteng Addo were also executed for unlawful enrichment through cash and carry judgments. Those executions, probably, did not wipe out corruption completely in Ghana society but it crippled it at the high echelons of the government. What do we do to public funds' looters in Nigeria? Pot holes on Nigerian highways are burying vehicles and humans because funds appropriated to maintain and construct new ones have been stolen by public officials. The thieves are caught and arraigned in court only to be released on bails by judges who adjourned their cases sine die. We had the case of Minister of Internal Affairs that organised a recruitment exercise into 5,400 cadets' vacancies in the Nigerian Customs Service. He and his collaborators sold 675,000 applications at i-refundable N 1,000 to each applicant. The examination centre were so jam-packed and in the ensuing stampede nineteen youths were crushed to death while several others were injured. EFCC's subsequent investigations showed that a total sum of 675 million naira collected had been shared between the minister, his permanent secretary and a briefcase company. While the briefcase company's owner was at large, the minister and the perm sec have been arraigned and charged in court for fraud, but they have been granted bail and their case file has since been gathering dust. When Nigerians protest against this type of injustice, Nigeria's pseudo-liberals and quasi intellectuals rise up in battles to defend rule of law, due process and fundamental human rights of the accused. To our pseudo liberals and quasi intellectuals, scores of Nigerians who die daily on Nigerian roads and the nineteen customs officers youth aspirants whose lives were terminated, had no fundamental human rights to life. The Chief Law Officer of the federation failed to declare his assets as required by law and when he subsequently did, he declared falsely. The CJN excused his crime with forgetfulness and he was arraigned before CCT as stipulated by law, which was followed with his suspension from office while his trial goes on. Nigeria's noisy pseudo liberals and quasi intellectuals jumped up in battle for the Chief Law Officer in what they termed breech of rule of law and due process. A pregnant woman has been under a prolonged labour and the doctor carried out Caesarean Section to save the live of the woman and the child. Nigeria's pseudo liberal and quasi intellectuals are insisting on the rule of birth and due process that is to say, the woman should deliver her baby naturally. And I wonder, do those elements have their brains under their feet and their intestines inside their heads?
S. Kadiri
Från: 'Julius Eto' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Skickat: den 20 februari 2019 16:31
Till: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Ämne: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - No Killing: Lives are Sacrosanct
Skickat: den 20 februari 2019 16:31
Till: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Ämne: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - No Killing: Lives are Sacrosanct
The great scholar, Prof. Falola, I greet you sir. So do all pan-Africanists worldwide.
Your place is assured in time and space when Africa's final glory story is told or chronicled after the present long night.
As an erudite intellectual, you continue to boost/rekindle our belief and hope in Pan-Africanism as the ideology of the black race for its
rapid socio-economic development and unity, to defeat destructively fanatical ethno-religious hatred, divisions and wars.
I am an Isoko (Niger Delta) and not from Nigeria's Southeast but i fully agree with your patriotic recognition of the mass murder(s) of the
Igbo before and during the country's civil war.
The question I have for S.Kadiri, Abdulkadir Bolaji Abdulkadir PhD and their ilk is this: What if the inept weak then President G.Jonathan
had called for the extra-judicial killing of ballot snatchers? Would you not have raised the alarm?
Let's stand for propriety and the truth at all times in the interest of our people.
The two troublesome corrupt parties (APC and PDP) and their presidential candidates that some of you worship today and are ready to
forsake their friends as well as die and kill for, will surely pass away but Nigeria and Africa will remain.
ETO
--------------------------------------------
On Wed, 2/20/19, Toyin Falola <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - No Killing: Lives are Sacrosanct
To: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, February 20, 2019, 1:58 PM
Dear Professor Ashafa:
I don't think that you and I
should endorse this line of thinking that there is a
constitutional justification for the statement by President
Buhari that a ballot snatcher should be killed. Even his
political
ally, like Tinubu, said Buhari did not make such a
statement although it is document on television. It is a
dangerous slope that we do not want as a country, a
community and people. You cannot say that the police and
army should kill someone because of ballot
box snatching. That it qualifies as an insurrection, in the
silly legalistic argument below, is stretching imagination
back to the primitive age.
The statements credited to the
governor of Kaduna where you live in terms of body bags, if
correct, in a decent society, rises to the level of
impeachment. If the governor of the State of Texas where I
live
says the same thing, he is gone within 24 hours.
Our country has witnessed so much
violence, including the massive killing of innocent Igbo
people in the 1960s, that you, I, and others must not say
anything, think anything, justify anything that a single
Nigeria should lose his life. If people really want to
kill, they should kill all the politicians and close all the
prisons, and you will see the end of Boko Haram!
No killing, please.
Best
Moderator
Toyin
Falola
Department
of History
The
University of Texas at Austin
104
Inner Campus Drive
Austin,
TX 78712-0220
USA
512
475 7224
512
475 7222 (fax)
http://sites.utexas.edu/yoruba-studies-review/
http://www.toyinfalola.com
http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa
http://groups.google.com/group/yorubaaffairs
http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
From: dialogue
<usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of
Ashafa Abdullahi <abashafa@gmail.com>
Reply-To: dialogue
<usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, February 20, 2019 at 6:47 AM
To: dialogue
<usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - PRESS
STATEMENT BUHARI'S GAFFE ON BALLOT BOX SNATCHING: CISLAC
DEMANDS IMMEDIATE RETRACTION
The Constitutionality of
President Buhari's Declaration:
By Abdulkadir Bolaji
Abdulkadir PhD
There has been criticisms,
comments and tensions since d declaration of the President,
warning ballot box snatchers with a threat to
life.
I have decided to look at
this from constitutional stand point because the
constitution remains the Supreme law of the land and as
such, all other laws including the electoral law are
secondary to the constitution.
Some have argued that the
declaration by the president is a threat to life and as such
a violation of the right to life guaranteed in section 33 of
the constitution.
It should be noted that no
right is absolute. Every right is a privilege because the
constitution itself has stipulated circumstances when a
person could not alleged a violation of his or her
rights.
While it is true that the
electoral law has stipulated punishments for electoral
malpractices, this stipulations cannot overuse the express
exceptions stipulated in section 33 of the constitution. In
fact, depending on the nature of the
case, the exceptions in section 33 supersedes the provision
of the electoral law.
The fundamental question
now is whether ballot box snatching falls under the umbrella
of exceptions mentioned in section 33 of the constitution?
There are three exceptions stipulated in section 33 when the
right to life could be justifiably
violated. They are:
1. For d defence of any
person from unlawful violence or defense of property
2. In order to effect a
lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully
detained
3. For the purpose of
suppressing a riot, insurrection or mutiny
Looking at the above
exceptions, it is very clear that the life of a ballot box
snatchers could be lawfully violated under paragraph 2 and 3
above.
First, snatching of a
ballot is an offence under the electoral law. Thus, a ballot
box snatcher is exposing his life to risk because by
paragrahy 2 above, a security agent is under duty to prevent
snatching of ballot box and in the process
of arresting an offender in that case, a snatcher may be
killed without violating the right to life
Also, by paragraph 3
above, snatching of ballot box could amount to an act of
insurrection. An act of Insurrection includes, revolt,
uprising, disobedience to express authority and much more.
Therefore, snatching of ballot box is an act
of uprising capable of truncating our nascent
democracy
In conclusion, the
declaration by the president is just a warning telling
Nigerians that your right to life could justifiably be
inflicted within the framework of the Nigerian
Constitution?
Lastly, my questions to u
are:
Do u have intention of
snatching a ballot box? If no, why worrying?
Do u have intention of
snatching a ballot box? If yes, be worried.
On Wed, Feb 20, 2019,
02:02 Salimonu Kadiri <ogunlakaiye@hotmail.com
wrote:
Auwal
Musa,
The problem with
us, Nigerians, is that when we want to be mischievous, we
pretend to have only an eye which can see only in one
direction. You have cited Section 128 of the electoral Act
but
what of Section 32 (2) (a-c) of the Constitution of
Nigeria. Here it is : A person shall not be
regarded as having been deprived of his/her life in
contravention of this section, if he/she dies as a result of
the use, to such extent and in such circumstances as are
permitted by law, of such force as is reasonably
necessary. (a) For the defence
of any person from unlawful violence or for the defence of
property. (b) In order to effect a lawful arrest or to
prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained. (c) For
the purpose of suppressing a riot, insurrection or
mutiny. In view of the above-cited
part of the Nigerian Constitution, ballot box snatchers are
armed in order to execute their nefarious actions and as
such should be dealt with according to Section 32 (2)(a-c)
of the Constitution which in law is superior to the
Electoral Act. Therefore, CISLAC
should apologise to Buhari for attributing his adherence to
the Constitution as Gaffe.
I suspect that
CISLAC is organising ballot box snatching on election day
which is why they are worried that ballot box snatchers
would be shot on sight as ordered by the President. The
simple
logic is, if you don't want to be shot, don't
snatch ballot box and snatch ballot box and be shot. If I am
not a shy person, I would have advised Nigeria's
shit-hole liberals that when next armed robbers come to
visit them, they should throw banana to repel
them.
S.
Kadiri
Från:
usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
<usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
för Auwal Musa <rafsanjanikano@gmail.com>
Skickat: den 19 februari 2019 16:50
Till: Onyekachi Eke; Abubakar Jimoh;
rafsanjani@cislacnigeria.net
Ämne: USA Africa Dialogue Series - PRESS STATEMENT
BUHARI'S GAFFE ON BALLOT BOX SNATCHING: CISLAC DEMANDS
IMMEDIATE RETRACTION
PRESS
STATEMENT
BUHARI'S GAFFE ON BALLOT BOX
SNATCHING: CISLAC DEMANDS IMMEDIATE
RETRACTION.
The Civil
Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) expresses shock
and worry at the recent undemocratic and ill-thought
response by President Muhammadu Buhari, which has the
potential of emboldening
trigger-happy security agents to take the law into their
hands.
We are
surprised at such statement that could be a 'potential
execution order' from the President, not minding the
present uncertainty that dominates the tension-soaked
political atmosphere in
the country.
We are
concerned that the order, if not retracted, has the
potential of breeding extra judicial killings, civil
disobedience or disrupt law and order and gross killing of
innocent Nigerians who
would be taking part in the rescheduled February
23rd, 2019 polls.
While we work
to uphold democracy and good governance in the country, we
are at liberty to remind the President that the primary
purpose of government is to promote, protect and secure
human rights and fundamental freedom as contained in the
Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.
We must
reiterate the importance of Right to Life as a fundamental
part of human rights. Citizens must be alive to pursue its
justiciability.
We are
not unaware that Section 128 of the Electoral Act states
that "any person who at an election acts
or incites others to act in
a disorderly manner commits an offence and is liable on
conviction to a maximum fine of N500,000.00 or imprisonment
for a term of 12 months or both" and
specifically states that anyone who destroys, or snatches
election material is liable to
imprisonment for 24 months. Nowhere is capital punishment
prescribed as a penalty for any electoral offence in
Nigeria.
With the
elections having been postponed by a week, to allow the
Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to sort out
logistics and other issues it claimed made them not go ahead
with the elections
as scheduled for February 16, 2019, we expect nothing but
statesman-like attitude from the President, with sincere
commitment to ensure the process is free, fair, credible and
non-violent. The statement was indeed un-presidential and
not good for the evolution
of our peaceful democratic process.
We also
recall that the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam
Nasiru El-Rufai, had in a statement, recently threatened
international observers who 'interfere' with the 2019
elections with
"death and bagging them in body bags." This shows a
scant respect for human rights. Such utterances, actions and
comments are unfortunate, particularly coming from those
considered to be statesmen. Despite the extra-judicial
killings pervading the space in
the build up to the elections, CISLAC strongly believes
that the inflammatory statements coming from political gate
keepers can truncate our fragile democracy.
In
compliance with the directives from Mr. President, the
Nigerian Army had issued a statement vowing to obey the
directives of the president. Such matching order to
the military to deal ruthlessly
with those attempting to disrupt the polls is jungle
justice and can truncate our already challenged democratic
process and thereby set a bad precedent.
CISLAC,
therefore, calls on security agencies to respect the rule of
law and not take laws into their hands as they will take
responsibility for any action.
To add to
this, every known law in our democratic norms does not
permit the armed forces anywhere near the parameters of the
polling units / points. In fact, armed bearing police
officers are not
allowed any where close to the poll. It is therefore an
anomaly for any security agent to comply with any illegal
directive.
We must
remind security agencies that such directive is not bigger
than the oath to protect and defend the citizens of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria. Global security norms have
moved from regime
protection to human security. It is therefore imperative
for the President to immediately retract, withdraw and
apologize to Nigerians for such statement.
CISLAC
remains committed in supporting a peaceful and non-violent
election. commitment to a stable democracy and
democratic process has reinforced our support to the
electoral body in conducting
a free, fair and credible election.
We urge
Nigerians to come out en masse to exercise their civic
responsibility in a peaceful and non-violent manner.
Auwal Ibrahim Musa
(Rafsanjani)
Executive Director
--
Auwal
Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani)
Executive
Director
Civil
Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)
Head
of Transparency International (Nigeria)
Amnesty
International (Nigeria)Board Chairman
No.
16, House 3, P.O.W. Mafemi Crescent, Off Solomon Lar
way,
Utako
District, Abuja-Nigeria.
Website: www.cislacnigeria.net
Email: rafsanjani@cislacnigeria.net, rafsanjanikano@gmail.com,
rafsanjanikano@aol.com, cislac@cislacnigeria.net,auwal.rafsanjani@amnesty.org.ng
GSM:
+234-8033844646, +234-8052370333
Global
Office:230
Park Avenue 3rd
floor West Spaces Helmsley Building
Between
Lexington& Vanderbilt New York NY10169
USA
.Cellphone
:+1202651142
UK
Cellphone:+447983698981
CISLAC
HAS UN ECOSOC CONSULTATIVE STATUS
--
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Your place is assured in time and space when Africa's final glory story is told or chronicled after the present long night.
As an erudite intellectual, you continue to boost/rekindle our belief and hope in Pan-Africanism as the ideology of the black race for its
rapid socio-economic development and unity, to defeat destructively fanatical ethno-religious hatred, divisions and wars.
I am an Isoko (Niger Delta) and not from Nigeria's Southeast but i fully agree with your patriotic recognition of the mass murder(s) of the
Igbo before and during the country's civil war.
The question I have for S.Kadiri, Abdulkadir Bolaji Abdulkadir PhD and their ilk is this: What if the inept weak then President G.Jonathan
had called for the extra-judicial killing of ballot snatchers? Would you not have raised the alarm?
Let's stand for propriety and the truth at all times in the interest of our people.
The two troublesome corrupt parties (APC and PDP) and their presidential candidates that some of you worship today and are ready to
forsake their friends as well as die and kill for, will surely pass away but Nigeria and Africa will remain.
ETO
--------------------------------------------
On Wed, 2/20/19, Toyin Falola <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - No Killing: Lives are Sacrosanct
To: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, February 20, 2019, 1:58 PM
Dear Professor Ashafa:
I don't think that you and I
should endorse this line of thinking that there is a
constitutional justification for the statement by President
Buhari that a ballot snatcher should be killed. Even his
political
ally, like Tinubu, said Buhari did not make such a
statement although it is document on television. It is a
dangerous slope that we do not want as a country, a
community and people. You cannot say that the police and
army should kill someone because of ballot
box snatching. That it qualifies as an insurrection, in the
silly legalistic argument below, is stretching imagination
back to the primitive age.
The statements credited to the
governor of Kaduna where you live in terms of body bags, if
correct, in a decent society, rises to the level of
impeachment. If the governor of the State of Texas where I
live
says the same thing, he is gone within 24 hours.
Our country has witnessed so much
violence, including the massive killing of innocent Igbo
people in the 1960s, that you, I, and others must not say
anything, think anything, justify anything that a single
Nigeria should lose his life. If people really want to
kill, they should kill all the politicians and close all the
prisons, and you will see the end of Boko Haram!
No killing, please.
Best
Moderator
Toyin
Falola
Department
of History
The
University of Texas at Austin
104
Inner Campus Drive
Austin,
TX 78712-0220
USA
512
475 7224
512
475 7222 (fax)
http://sites.utexas.edu/yoruba-studies-review/
http://www.toyinfalola.com
http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa
http://groups.google.com/group/yorubaaffairs
http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
From: dialogue
<usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of
Ashafa Abdullahi <abashafa@gmail.com>
Reply-To: dialogue
<usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, February 20, 2019 at 6:47 AM
To: dialogue
<usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - PRESS
STATEMENT BUHARI'S GAFFE ON BALLOT BOX SNATCHING: CISLAC
DEMANDS IMMEDIATE RETRACTION
The Constitutionality of
President Buhari's Declaration:
By Abdulkadir Bolaji
Abdulkadir PhD
There has been criticisms,
comments and tensions since d declaration of the President,
warning ballot box snatchers with a threat to
life.
I have decided to look at
this from constitutional stand point because the
constitution remains the Supreme law of the land and as
such, all other laws including the electoral law are
secondary to the constitution.
Some have argued that the
declaration by the president is a threat to life and as such
a violation of the right to life guaranteed in section 33 of
the constitution.
It should be noted that no
right is absolute. Every right is a privilege because the
constitution itself has stipulated circumstances when a
person could not alleged a violation of his or her
rights.
While it is true that the
electoral law has stipulated punishments for electoral
malpractices, this stipulations cannot overuse the express
exceptions stipulated in section 33 of the constitution. In
fact, depending on the nature of the
case, the exceptions in section 33 supersedes the provision
of the electoral law.
The fundamental question
now is whether ballot box snatching falls under the umbrella
of exceptions mentioned in section 33 of the constitution?
There are three exceptions stipulated in section 33 when the
right to life could be justifiably
violated. They are:
1. For d defence of any
person from unlawful violence or defense of property
2. In order to effect a
lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully
detained
3. For the purpose of
suppressing a riot, insurrection or mutiny
Looking at the above
exceptions, it is very clear that the life of a ballot box
snatchers could be lawfully violated under paragraph 2 and 3
above.
First, snatching of a
ballot is an offence under the electoral law. Thus, a ballot
box snatcher is exposing his life to risk because by
paragrahy 2 above, a security agent is under duty to prevent
snatching of ballot box and in the process
of arresting an offender in that case, a snatcher may be
killed without violating the right to life
Also, by paragraph 3
above, snatching of ballot box could amount to an act of
insurrection. An act of Insurrection includes, revolt,
uprising, disobedience to express authority and much more.
Therefore, snatching of ballot box is an act
of uprising capable of truncating our nascent
democracy
In conclusion, the
declaration by the president is just a warning telling
Nigerians that your right to life could justifiably be
inflicted within the framework of the Nigerian
Constitution?
Lastly, my questions to u
are:
Do u have intention of
snatching a ballot box? If no, why worrying?
Do u have intention of
snatching a ballot box? If yes, be worried.
On Wed, Feb 20, 2019,
02:02 Salimonu Kadiri <ogunlakaiye@hotmail.com
wrote:
Auwal
Musa,
The problem with
us, Nigerians, is that when we want to be mischievous, we
pretend to have only an eye which can see only in one
direction. You have cited Section 128 of the electoral Act
but
what of Section 32 (2) (a-c) of the Constitution of
Nigeria. Here it is : A person shall not be
regarded as having been deprived of his/her life in
contravention of this section, if he/she dies as a result of
the use, to such extent and in such circumstances as are
permitted by law, of such force as is reasonably
necessary. (a) For the defence
of any person from unlawful violence or for the defence of
property. (b) In order to effect a lawful arrest or to
prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained. (c) For
the purpose of suppressing a riot, insurrection or
mutiny. In view of the above-cited
part of the Nigerian Constitution, ballot box snatchers are
armed in order to execute their nefarious actions and as
such should be dealt with according to Section 32 (2)(a-c)
of the Constitution which in law is superior to the
Electoral Act. Therefore, CISLAC
should apologise to Buhari for attributing his adherence to
the Constitution as Gaffe.
I suspect that
CISLAC is organising ballot box snatching on election day
which is why they are worried that ballot box snatchers
would be shot on sight as ordered by the President. The
simple
logic is, if you don't want to be shot, don't
snatch ballot box and snatch ballot box and be shot. If I am
not a shy person, I would have advised Nigeria's
shit-hole liberals that when next armed robbers come to
visit them, they should throw banana to repel
them.
S.
Kadiri
Från:
usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
<usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
för Auwal Musa <rafsanjanikano@gmail.com>
Skickat: den 19 februari 2019 16:50
Till: Onyekachi Eke; Abubakar Jimoh;
rafsanjani@cislacnigeria.net
Ämne: USA Africa Dialogue Series - PRESS STATEMENT
BUHARI'S GAFFE ON BALLOT BOX SNATCHING: CISLAC DEMANDS
IMMEDIATE RETRACTION
PRESS
STATEMENT
BUHARI'S GAFFE ON BALLOT BOX
SNATCHING: CISLAC DEMANDS IMMEDIATE
RETRACTION.
The Civil
Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) expresses shock
and worry at the recent undemocratic and ill-thought
response by President Muhammadu Buhari, which has the
potential of emboldening
trigger-happy security agents to take the law into their
hands.
We are
surprised at such statement that could be a 'potential
execution order' from the President, not minding the
present uncertainty that dominates the tension-soaked
political atmosphere in
the country.
We are
concerned that the order, if not retracted, has the
potential of breeding extra judicial killings, civil
disobedience or disrupt law and order and gross killing of
innocent Nigerians who
would be taking part in the rescheduled February
23rd, 2019 polls.
While we work
to uphold democracy and good governance in the country, we
are at liberty to remind the President that the primary
purpose of government is to promote, protect and secure
human rights and fundamental freedom as contained in the
Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.
We must
reiterate the importance of Right to Life as a fundamental
part of human rights. Citizens must be alive to pursue its
justiciability.
We are
not unaware that Section 128 of the Electoral Act states
that "any person who at an election acts
or incites others to act in
a disorderly manner commits an offence and is liable on
conviction to a maximum fine of N500,000.00 or imprisonment
for a term of 12 months or both" and
specifically states that anyone who destroys, or snatches
election material is liable to
imprisonment for 24 months. Nowhere is capital punishment
prescribed as a penalty for any electoral offence in
Nigeria.
With the
elections having been postponed by a week, to allow the
Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to sort out
logistics and other issues it claimed made them not go ahead
with the elections
as scheduled for February 16, 2019, we expect nothing but
statesman-like attitude from the President, with sincere
commitment to ensure the process is free, fair, credible and
non-violent. The statement was indeed un-presidential and
not good for the evolution
of our peaceful democratic process.
We also
recall that the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam
Nasiru El-Rufai, had in a statement, recently threatened
international observers who 'interfere' with the 2019
elections with
"death and bagging them in body bags." This shows a
scant respect for human rights. Such utterances, actions and
comments are unfortunate, particularly coming from those
considered to be statesmen. Despite the extra-judicial
killings pervading the space in
the build up to the elections, CISLAC strongly believes
that the inflammatory statements coming from political gate
keepers can truncate our fragile democracy.
In
compliance with the directives from Mr. President, the
Nigerian Army had issued a statement vowing to obey the
directives of the president. Such matching order to
the military to deal ruthlessly
with those attempting to disrupt the polls is jungle
justice and can truncate our already challenged democratic
process and thereby set a bad precedent.
CISLAC,
therefore, calls on security agencies to respect the rule of
law and not take laws into their hands as they will take
responsibility for any action.
To add to
this, every known law in our democratic norms does not
permit the armed forces anywhere near the parameters of the
polling units / points. In fact, armed bearing police
officers are not
allowed any where close to the poll. It is therefore an
anomaly for any security agent to comply with any illegal
directive.
We must
remind security agencies that such directive is not bigger
than the oath to protect and defend the citizens of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria. Global security norms have
moved from regime
protection to human security. It is therefore imperative
for the President to immediately retract, withdraw and
apologize to Nigerians for such statement.
CISLAC
remains committed in supporting a peaceful and non-violent
election. commitment to a stable democracy and
democratic process has reinforced our support to the
electoral body in conducting
a free, fair and credible election.
We urge
Nigerians to come out en masse to exercise their civic
responsibility in a peaceful and non-violent manner.
Auwal Ibrahim Musa
(Rafsanjani)
Executive Director
--
Auwal
Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani)
Executive
Director
Civil
Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)
Head
of Transparency International (Nigeria)
Amnesty
International (Nigeria)Board Chairman
No.
16, House 3, P.O.W. Mafemi Crescent, Off Solomon Lar
way,
Utako
District, Abuja-Nigeria.
Website: www.cislacnigeria.net
Email: rafsanjani@cislacnigeria.net, rafsanjanikano@gmail.com,
rafsanjanikano@aol.com, cislac@cislacnigeria.net,auwal.rafsanjani@amnesty.org.ng
GSM:
+234-8033844646, +234-8052370333
Global
Office:230
Park Avenue 3rd
floor West Spaces Helmsley Building
Between
Lexington& Vanderbilt New York NY10169
USA
.Cellphone
:+1202651142
UK
Cellphone:+447983698981
CISLAC
HAS UN ECOSOC CONSULTATIVE STATUS
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