In the aftermath of the unacceptable postponement of the 2015 general elections, earlier slated for 14th February 2015, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) is compelled to react to several unsavoury developments in the polity. We note with concern that the Federal Government and other elements in the ruling party have been pushing the military further into the partisan political terrain, in a manner that portends grave danger to our hard won democracy.

In what is apparently a throwback to the dark days of military dictatorship, opposition politicians are being hounded, while buildings of compatriots who have taken a principled stand against the illegalities being perpetrated against the Nigerian people, have been placed under surveillance. Our expectation was that after getting away with the subversive postponement of the general elections, and seeing the opprobrium it had generated from Nigerians, the government would tow an acceptable and less divisive path. To our consternation however, what we have seen is a continuation of impunity, using the coercive instruments of state power.

TMG condemns the ongoing attempts to use agencies that are paid from the tax payers funds of Nigerians to intimidate the citizenry. The barbaric use of security forces to intimidate fellow citizens is unacceptable. We therefore call on government to immediately bring to a halt the ongoing surveillance of the homes of opposition politicians. We make bold to say that the government is further eroding its legitimacy as long as it continues to use the military to intimidate and harass fellow Nigerians. This brazen infringement on the fundamental rights and civil liberties of Nigerians is a recipe for chaos and anarchy.

TMG therefore demands an immediate end to all sieges that have been laid to the homes of opposition politicians with the goal of arm twisting them to bow to the powers that be. Also, following the subterfuge that manifested in the postponement of the elections that had earlier been scheduled for February 14, we saw that armoured tanks and troops immediately began to patrol the streets in a well-orchestrated conspiracy to brow beat the Nigerian people into a state of submission.

This is an unfortunate return to those despicable days of the military, when the goons of state were used to attempt a roll back of civil liberties and freedom. Thankfully, the forces of history were on the side of the Nigerian people. The heroic sacrifices of courageous Nigerians ensured that the military was chased out of the political space to the barracks, where they rightfully belong under full civilian control. The result is the current democracy that Nigerians enjoy, in spite of all its many flaws.

It is therefore ironic that some elements in their desperation for power are doing everything possible to insert the military back into the political space. The unpatriotic role of the military in the rigmarole that led to the postponement of the elections is not lost on all well-meaning Nigerians. We therefore deem it necessary to warn the government of the grave dangers of continuously pushing the military into playing partisan roles in the polity.

The result of this deliberate conscription of the military into partisan political roles, is the crisis of credibility currently afflicting the military. This much would be seen in the contents of a recently leaked audio tape, which allegedly showed an unholy alliance between the military and some politicians during the Ekiti governorship election. If the content of this tape is anything to go by, and the culprits therein are not brought to book, the same scenario may well be expected in the 2015 General Elections.

While TMG is still in the process of investigating these claims, we call on the military to immediately speak and explain to Nigerians their role, specifically the role of the officers identified in the tape.  Silence on this matter will not be taken as golden; we insist the military should immediately speak up on this issue to clear the air and save its sinking reputation. It is disturbing that the military, an institution that should at every point be seen as a symbol of Nigeria’s national unity, has allowed itself to be dragged into the partisan arena, to the extent that Nigerians are increasingly losing confidence in it.

More so, the Supreme Court in 2005 made it clear that the military has no business in elections in Nigeria. This alone should provide a legal basis to disengage the military from the electoral process. In line with Section 217 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, Nigeria’s armed forces should be maintained and equipped for the purpose of defending Nigeria from external aggression, maintaining its territorial integrity and securing its border from violations on land, sea and air. The police and para-military institutions should be enough to secure our elections.

The forces are also mandated to supress insurrection and act in aid of civil authority to restore order when called upon to do so by the President, but subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly. In all of these, foisting the military on the electoral process in a manner that seeks to swing the pendulum in favour of one party, is most reprehensible.

Similarly, in the build up to the elections now scheduled for March 28, 2015, TMG has been taken aback by the crude outbursts of Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 2, Joseph Mbu. Particularly, the violent comment in which the said Mbu is quoted to have declared that for any police officer harmed during the elections, 20 civilians would be killed, is most shocking. This kind of raw incitement of officers to commit genocide against Nigerians is unbecoming of a police officer trained and fed with tax payers money to protect the people.

While we do not subscribe to any form of violent conduct against the police, Joseph Mbu’s statement  is tantamount to endorsing jungle justice  by a top police officer and   encouraging his men to commit ‘trigger happy’ acts against innocent citizens. TMG therefore calls on the Police Service Commission and other extant bodies responsible for discipline in the service to call Mbu to order. Failure to do so, would mean those superintending these bodies are as guilty of any extra judicial murder of Nigerians that could follow such brazen threats by this rampaging police officer.

Studying the pre-election environment within the context of early earning, has given us deep insights into the major issues in the 2015 electoral process. One of the most worrisome of these is the level of violent attacks that have characterized the process. We condemn all forms of violence, including destruction of candidates’ property that have plagued the campaign environment.

We call on all candidates, as well as other stakeholders to stop paying lip service to the quest for peace by ensuring they denounce supporters that engage in violence. This is in line with the Peace Accords that have been endorsed by the candidates. TMG is concerned that in spite of the peace agreement voluntarily signed by the parties, spiralling violence has continued to haunt the campaign environment.

TMG also wishes to warn that nothing whatsoever should be done to toy with the new election dates. For us, March 28 and April 11, 2015 are now sacrosanct for the 2015 general elections. We again repeat that any attempt to subvert those dates would be resolutely resisted by the Nigerian people. We insist in tandem with Article 21 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights and other extant domestic laws that the will of the people remains the basis of the authority of any government.

Long live Nigeria; the struggle continues!

Comrade Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi

Chairman, TMG