Tension: FG moves against opposition parties

By OBINNA EZUGWU 

In fledgling democracies such as Nigeria’s, the lines between state institutions, governments of the day and political parties they represent are often blurred, where they exist at all. 

And with bickering intensifying over the country’s contentious February 25 presidential election, which returned Bola Tinubu, candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as president-elect, institutions of state have seemingly been activated against the opposition, amid ongoing legal challenge mounted against the outcome.

“I think that from what we have seen play out in recent days, it’s safe to say that state institutions are not neutral,” said Chidi Anthony, a lawyer and public affairs commentator.

“I read the statement from DSS for example, and it didn’t make any sense to me. You could easily have mistaken it for what Festus Keyamo or Femi Fani-Kayode would write. How can anyone, who is not in charge of the government plan to install interim government?”

The election, which held much promise on account of anticipated deployment of technology to check over-voting, and more importantly, ensure real time uploading of results from polling units, ultimately fell short of expectations, and many, especially the youth population, who had invested so much energy and confidence in the process, are agitated.

The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), an electronic device designed to read Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and authenticate voters using fingerprints, sanctioned by the 2022 electoral act, was to check the perennial challenge of inflating votes, while the promised upload of results from polling units to INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) was to check the magic of collation centres, where winners and losers are ultimately decided.

The innovation gave many the hope that finally, votes would count and the people would be able to choose their leaders through the ballot.

However, the hope was ultimately dashed during the most crucial presidential election on February 25.

Though BVAS worked in most instances, the electoral body, much to the disappointment of many, failed to live up to the promise of uploading results in real time from polling units. When eventually the results were uploaded, they were in many instances mutilated, and differed significantly from what transpired at polling units.

The outcome of the election, which many foreign and local observers say fell short of set standards, has led to frustration and anger, mostly expressed by young people on social media. The main opposition candidates, namely Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who came second, and Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, who came third, have filed cases in court, while calling on their supporters to remain calm.

But the political atmosphere has been anything but calm. Though there hasn’t been much protests in the streets, there’s been heated exchanges on social media.

In an interview with Channels TV fortnight ago, Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party, argued that swearing in Mr. Tinubu as president on May 29 would amount to sanctioning illegality, which according to him, would be tantamount to ending democracy in the country.

His words rattled the ruling party’s camp. Calls for his arrest, alongside his principal, Mr. Obi, were made by the spokespersons of the Tinubu campaign, such Festus Keyamo, who doubles as minister of state for labour; Femi Fani-Kayode, former aviation minister, among others, who also pushed the allegation that some elements were planning to form interim government.

Although the idea of interim government – which is unconstitutional – being formed by the opposition flies in the face of logic, as such, can only be done by the government in power using the armed forces; the Department of State Services (DSS) on March 29, issued a statement ‘confirming’ that there’s a plan  by some misguided political actors to form interim government on May 29.

Peter Afunanya, the DSS spokesperson, who issued the statement, titled, ‘DSS confirms plot for interim government by misguided political actors,’ said that the agency had “identified some key players in the plot for an Interim Government in Nigeria.”

Afunanya alleged that the planners, “in their many meetings, have weighed various options, which include, among others, to sponsor endless violent mass protests in major cities to warrant a declaration of State of Emergency.

“Another is to obtain frivolous court injunctions to forestall the inauguration of new executive administrations and legislative houses at the Federal and State levels.”

He ended by warning that while its monitoring continues, “the DSS will not hesitate to take decisive and necessary legal steps against these misguided elements to frustrate their obnoxious intentions.”

Afunanya fell short of mentioning those in involved with the alleged plot, what many observers were quick to point out was likely an attempt to spread fear and prepare the grounds for possible arrest of leading opposition figures.

“The DSS statement on an interim government plot does not reassure me that it’s without prejudice. Citing Endsars-type protests and frivolous lawsuits as methods of overthrowing the government is beyond the boundaries of the DSS.

“What powers have the DSS to determine whether a lawsuit is frivolous?” wondered Prof. Usman Yusuf, a public affairs commentator, who backed Atiku during the presidential election, during an appearance on Arise TV a fortnight ago.

The DSS statement only helped to heighten tension in the polity, and made the post election debate, for the most part, about interim government and its plotters, and less about the shortcomings of the electoral process and legal challenge that followed, thereby putting the opposition on the defensive.

The Tinubu camp welcomed the position and demanded for arrests to be made, and many feared that notable opposition figures, particularly Mr. Obi, the Labour Party candidate, whose supporters, known as ‘Obidients’, have been most vocal on social media against the outcome of the polls, may be arrested.

But while no arrest has occurred, Obi and his running mate, Datti continue to face accusations many fear may be plots to prepare grounds for such arrest, the latest coming from Lai Mohammed, minister information and culture, who travelled to the United States last week to engage foreign press on the outcome of the election.

Speaking to a select group of foreign media organisations, including the Washington Post, Mohammed accused the duo of treason.

“Obi and his Vice, Datti Ahmed cannot be threatening Nigerians that if the President-elect, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is sworn-in on May 29, it will be the end of democracy in Nigeria,” he said.

“This is treason. You cannot be inviting insurrection, and this is what they are doing.

“Obi’s statement is that of a desperate person, he is not the democrat that he claimed to be. A democrat should not believe in democracy only when he wins the election.”

Mr. Mohammed’s remarks, which have been denounced by both the Labour Party and the PDP, as well as many opinion leaders, came across as an attempt to set both men up, and present them in bad light before the international community, a move observers have described as irresponsible.

“Despite the hurt and the injury Atiku and Obi have endured from the results released by INEC, they have not sought self-help; they have been restrained and have gone to court to seek redress. Accusing them of fascism or treason is irresponsible,” noted Prof. Udenta Udenta, author and director at the Centre for Alternative Policy Perspectives and Strategy (CAPPS).

Udenta, who also dismissed the idea that the opposition were planning interim government, noted that only the Buhari government and the military can bring about interim government. He argued that the APC government is heating up the polity to distract attention from the ongoing legal challenge of the presidential election.

“Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi’s cases have carefully drafted documents. The two things that stand out in the documents is the depth of data harnessed; the level of technical details in mounting the legal challenge, and the amount of evidence available,” Udenta said on Arise TV on Friday.

“But there is equally the moral dimension of this catastrophe  that befell the country in the form of the last presidential election; the moral fiber of the nation is under threat, and the Labour Party captured it with the case of the president-elect’s drug related matters in the United States. That has now been mainstreamed in the judicial conversation.

“For me, if the president-elect and the government of the day supporting it, understand the robustness of this challenge, they should channel their energy to it. They should stop trying to throw shades at people, in terms of bandying various strong words, such as the one from the DSS about people trying to form interim government, treason or insurrection.

“Interim government is an arrangement that only the current government can bring into place. The government of Buhari in concert with the military has the capacity to arrange interim government, or the structure to do that. Treason is a strong word you don’t throw around.”

Similarly, in his own intervention on Thursday, Femi Falana, SAN, dismissed the claim by Mohammed that Obi and Baba-Ahmed are engaging in subversive acts.

He emphasized that the duo have approached the court to challenge the results of the presidential election in line with the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act. Addressing Datti’s comments, Falana argued that expression of one’s opinion, doesn’t amount to treason.

“Whoever says inauguration will not hold is merely expressing his or her opinion. It is not treason to express one’s personal opinion,” he said.

“By virtue of section 37 of the Criminal Code Act, treason occurs when any person levies war against the State, in order to intimidate or overawe the President or the Governor of a State.”
Meanwhile, Obi in the statement on Wednesday, restated his commitment to pursue his case through legal means, while also dismissing the allegations by Mr. Mohammed.

The Labour Party candidate, who also reacted to an audio call purported to be between him and Bishop David Oyedepo, said, “I repeatedly stated that no one should vote for me based on Tribe or Religion, but rather on the assessment of Character, Competence, Capacity, Credibility, and Compassion that can be trusted to create a New Nigeria!

“The present attempts by the APC as a Party, and the APC led-government through some government officials and agencies to divert our attention from our blatantly stolen mandate is unfortunate and sad.

“These have come and continued to manifest in different ways, such as the malicious accusation of the Minister of Information, Mr. Lai Mohammed, the circulation of a fake doctored audio call, and a pressure on me to leave the country.

“Let me reiterate that the audio call being circulated is fake, and at no time throughout the campaign and now did I ever say, think, or even imply that the 2023 election is, or was a religious war.

“The attempts to manipulate Nigerians is very sad and wicked. Our legal team have been instructed to take appropriate legal actions against Peoples Gazette and others.

“While we call on all concerned Nigerians and the International Community to implore the APC and the APC led-government to stop their nasty attacks, my focus and commitment to lawfully and peacefully retrieve our mandate to secure and unite our Nation, take Nigeria from consumption to production, pull millions of Nigerians out of multidimensional poverty, especially in the North, and jump-start prosperity through agricultural, industrial, and technological revolution remain unchanged.

“Elections are over, and we are in court to retrieve our stolen mandate. Let me reiterate that we are doing so through all lawful and peaceful options in line with our legal system and constitution, and I continue to implore all Nigerians to remain peaceful and law abiding.

“Those fixated with heating up the polity, creating divisions, tensions and hatred within and outside Nigeria should remember that Nigeria is our only country.

“Our focus should be on how to address the litany of challenges facing us, such as: flawed electoral processes, the parlous state of our economy, unsustainable debt burden, lamentable unemployment and inflation, insecurity, and multi-dimensional poverty. A New Nigeria is, indeed, possible, and God will help us.”