Ahead of the April 14 supplementary elections in Sokoto State, a group known as Network For Domestic Election Monitors in the State, has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari over the conducts of the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, during the 2023 general elections held on February 25 and March 18, 2023.
In a letter titled, “Re; Sokoto 2023 & Call To Order As A Stitch In Time Saves Nine!!!”, dated April 6, 2023, signed by the Sokoto State Representative of the Network, Prof. Sani Abubakar YarSakke Esq., and addressed to President Buhari, the group accused the Minister of Police Affairs, who is from Sokoto State, of abusing his office by withdrawing Policemen from polling units on the days of presidential and governorship elections in the State, thereby causing violence and an atmosphere to manipulate the process in favour of his party, the APC.
The group also accused Dingyadi of ordering the arrests of opposition party leaders across the State by Policemen in order to allegedly rig the elections in favour of APC, adding that the Minister’s actions were allegedly responsible for the unprecedented spate of inconclusive elections in the State.
The Network of Domestic Election Monitors noted that all the actions of the Police Affairs Minister were in flagrant disobedience to President Buhari’s directives of free and fair elections and neutrality of security personnel in the 2023 elections, calling on the President to call both Dingyadi and Wamakko to order ahead of the rescheduled supplementary elections in the State on April 14, 2023.
“Your Excellency, as stated in our earlier letter, we are a domestic non-partisan, non-profit and non-governmental organization working with both local and international partners around the world to strengthen and safeguard democratic institutions, processes, norms and values to secure a better quality of life for all. We work to ensure equity,
diversity, mainstreaming and inclusion. Our team envisions societies and communities where freedom, justice and democracy prevail, with dignity for all.
“Mr. President, we wish to again commend your bold attempt at ensuring free and fair credible elections in Nigeria. We equally acknowledge your emphatic efforts and pronouncements leading to the February 25th and March 18th 2023 general elections. The Naira redesign policy of your administration despite the efforts of some members of the political class to undermine that laudable objective, the policy to a large extent, helped in minimizing the endemic vote buying and money politics in the country generally.
“Mr. President’s stance against the use or misuse of security agencies for election is highly commendable. We recall times without number your pronouncements directing the security services to steer clear of partisan politics and avoid being used by any person or group of persons for political purposes.
“It is indeed sobering to chronicle the elections in Sokoto State where all the fears raised in our previous letter have been rudely confirmed. Our grounds for the rejection of appointment of the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, as the Director General of a party’s Campaign Council in the State have now been sadly and unfortunately justified. Minister Dingyadi as the sitting overseeing minister of Police Affairs in the country, used his office or rather abused his office to ensure the following:-
“A plot to ensure the conspicuous absence of the Police from polling units during the Presidential and National Assembly elections which resulted in unprecedented political violence and thuggery never seen in the State. As a result, over 470 polling units with a total of over 300,000 registered voters were disenfranchised and unable to cast their votes leading to inconclusive elections for all the National Assembly elections in the State. This is unheard of in this country, and even more so giving the fact that your cabinet minister of Police Affairs is clearly responsible for this unwholesome development, in spite of your warning.
“The assignment and deployment of Police officers to all his Party leaders and Agents, who used them to harass and assault all other political party leadership across the state. Many opposition party leaders were violently withdrawn from their polling units and detained at various police posts across the state to pave way for manipulation of election results.
“Your Excellency against the background of the re-scheduled supplementary elections in the state on Saturday 15th April, 2023 people in the state are now justifiably worried that the same scenario is about to play. In this context, the level of preparations and mobilization by all the political parties in the state has created a very wild and tensed atmosphere requiring the immediate and direct intervention of the Commander-in-Chief to save the situation.
“Meanwhile there is a graveyard silence in the state over the outcome of the last governorship election in the State. Voice of reason is prevailing on the purported losers to go to court and challenge the results. It is on record that the arrowhead of the purported winning party, Sen. Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, has boasted severally that his party men should by whatever means ensure victory and allow the losing parties to go to court. Mr. President, Sen Warnakko has become the most notorious serial albatross to the institutional integrity of the judiciary in Nigeria, for the following reasons:-
“He was the central person in the celebrated Justice Ayo Salami saga during the 2007/2008 gubernatorial election and supplementary election in Sokoto State.
“The recent case involving the immediate-past Chief?Justice of the Federation, Hon Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, where Sen Wamakko featured prominently in giving millions Of dollars in bribery to the CJN’s eldest son, seeking to upturn the last 2019 gubernatorial election in Sokoto State.
“Finally, Mr. President, it is pertinent to note that in spite of all your efforts, the elections were marred with incessant vote buying across all parties. In line with your desire and quest to bequeath
free, fair and credible election in the country, we passionately appeal to you not to give up to enemies of democracy, desperately bent on destroying all the efforts and good works you laboured to put in place in the eight years of your presidency,” Prof. YarSakke stated.
The group also copied the letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), chairman of INEC, National Security Adviser, Inspector General of Police, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, the Country Representative, United Nations (UN); Ambassador, United States of America Embassy; High Commissioner, British High Commission; Ambassador, European Union; the Representative, African Union (AU); the Country Representative, Transparency International, and media organisations.
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