Public Interest Letter Of Extreme Urgency And Importance
Address:
41, Miss Elems Street, Onitsha
Anambra State, Nigeria
Monday, Sept 25, 2023
1. Mallam Nuhu Ribadu
National Security Adviser
Office of the National Security Adviser
Aso Rock (Drive), Three-Arms-Zone
Abuja, FCT, Nigeria
2. Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo
Hon Minister of Interior
Federal Ministry of Interior
Old Secretariat, Area 1, Garki (info@interior.gov.ng)
Abuja, FCT, Nigeria
Dear NSA and Minister of Interior,
To Ensure Participatory, Free, Fair, Credible And Secured Nov 11, 2023 Imo Governorship Election: Ensure That Our Important Letters To INEC Chair, IGP/PSC, COAS And DG-DSS Are Timely Acted Upon And Complied With For Purposes Of Public Interest And Sanctity Of The Ballot Box And Security And Safety Of Imo Voters, General Public And Their Properties
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety); a respected Human Rights and Democracy Voice in Nigeria and beyond since 2008, is writing Your Two Public Offices to formally bring your attention to the above underlined subject matter. This public interest letter of ours is in recognition of Your Two Public Offices as critical ministerial and departmental stakeholders in the general security and safety of all authorities and persons in Nigeria and promotion and sustenance of democracy and democratic process in Nigeria or any part thereof including Imo State. It is our humble request that Your Two Public Offices should ensure that our important letters to INEC Chair, IGP/PSC, COAS and DG-DSS are timely acted upon and complied with for purposes of public interest and sanctity of the Ballot Box and security and safety of Imo Voters, general public and their properties.
2. Intersociety’s letter to INEC Chairman is dated Today, Monday, Sept 25, 2023 and captioned: “Time Is Now For The Independent National Electoral Commission Under Prof Yakubu To Comprehensively Address Its In-House Challenges Threatening Impartiality And Credibility Of The Nov 11, 2023 Governorship Election In Imo State And Clear The Mess Highlighted Below”. Our letter to Chairman of the Police Service Commission and Inspector General of Police is also dated Today, Monday, Sept 25, 2023 and captioned: “To Ensure Participatory, Free, Fair, Credible And Secured Nov 11, 2023 Imo Governorship Election: Time Has Come To Transfer Senior Police Officers In Imo State And Zone 9 Police Commands And Disarm And Demobilize The Imo State Government Ebubeagu Militias And Armed Others“. In our letter to Chief of Army Staff, it is also dated today, Monday, Sept 25, 2023 and captioned “To Ensure Participatory, Free, Fair, Credible And Secured Nov 11, 2023 Imo Governorship Election: Time Has Come To Transfer The Commandant/Principal Officers And Field Operational Commanding Officers Of The 34 Brigade In Imo State And Keep The Imo State Government-funded Ebubeagu Militias And Armed Others Off From Polling Units And Result Collation Centers On Election Day” while that of Director General of DSS is dated same today (Sept 25, 2023) and captioned “To Ensure Participatory, Free, Fair, Credible And Secured Nov 11, 2023 Imo Governorship Election: Time Has Come To Transfer The Imo State DSS Director And Other Principal Officers Including The State’s 27 LGAs’ Operational Officers-in-Charge And Offer Credible Intelligence And Assist Lawful Law Enforcement Operations Friendly To Public Security And Safety And Popular And Secured Voting In The State’s Crucial Governorship Election Fixed For Nov 11, 2023”. For want of space, copies of our letters to INEC Chairman and Chairman of Police Service Commission/Inspector General of Police are hereby attached.
3. We had in our letter to Chief of Army Staff pointed out to him that “Time has come for the COAS to transfer the Commandant of 34 Brigade in Imo State and other principal officers and field operational commanding officers including commanding officers of the 34 Brigade Military Police”. And that “apart from having been indicted in our several reports on Imo State especially their involvement in series of unlawful killings and civilian properties’ burnings since Jan 2021; they have also failed woefully in keeping Imo safe and secured. They are also neutrality and integrity challenged going by their reported partisan roles in the run up to and during the 2023 National/State Assembly Elections in Imo State.”
In our letter to Director General of DSS, we requested that “to ensure participatory, free, fair, credible and secured Nov 11, 2023 Imo Governorship Election, time has come to transfer the Imo State DSS Director and other principal officers including the State’s 27 LGAs’ Operational Officers-in-Charge and offer credible intelligence and assist in lawful law enforcement operations friendly to public security and safety and popular and secured voting in the State’s crucial Governorship Election fixed for Nov 11, 2023” and added that “apart from having been indicted in our several reports on Imo State especially the integrity challenged operational or vicarious involvement of the above mentioned personnel as providers of intelligence leading to series of unlawful killings and civilian properties’ burnings or their periodic participation in the law enforcement operations resulting in such killings and civilian properties’ burnings or in indiscriminate arrests, torture and arbitrary detentions or extra legal and extra jus detentions without trial; abductions and disappearances in Imo State since Jan 2021; the named heads of the Imo DSS key departments have also failed woefully in keeping Imo safe and secured. They are also neutrality and integrity challenged going by their reported partisan roles in the run up to and during the 2023 National/State Assembly Elections in the State and have therefore overstayed their welcome in Imo State”.
4. Our Interest Is To See Imo Voters And Their Properties Secured And Protected: Our major interest in Imo State is purely borne out of desire to have decency and sanctity of the Ballot Box restored and Imo voters and their properties secured and protected again in the State after the January 14, 2020 Nigeria’s Supreme Court verdict that installed Hope Uzodinma as Governor. However, the above will be too difficult to achieve in atmosphere of continued onslaughts by unchecked armed state actors and untamed armed non state actors. You are hereby strongly called upon to assist and ensure that Imo Voters and their properties are secured and protected to freely vote for Governorship Candidates of their choice on Nov 11, 2023. Apart from ensuring their security and safety, the voting environments and their residences and properties must also be secured and subversive elements within the security forces including Nigerian Army and all armed non state criminal entities stopped from wrecking more havocs. It is our firm ground that “200,000 living votes are greater than 2m dead votes” in Imo
Signed:
For: International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law
Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman
(B.Sc. Criminology and Security Studies, M.Sc. Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution)
Chinwe Umeche Esquire (LL.B, BL)
Head, Democracy and Good Governance
Obianuju Joy Igboeli Esquire (LL.B, BL)
Head, Civil Liberties and Rule of Law
Chidinma Evangeline Udegbunam Esquire (LL.B, BL)
Head, Campaign and Publicity
Contacts:
Email: info@intersociety-ng.org
Website: https://intersociety-ng.org