Ijaw women under the aegis of Ijaw Women Liberation Movement have dragged perpetrators of violence during the inconclusive Bayelsa governorship election that led to the death of some persons and molestation of Bayelsa citizens, mostly women, to the National Human Right Commission (NHRC).
In a statement by Chief (Mrs) Agnes Ebebi, the Movement viewed the actions of those involved, particularly the military as an infringement of the rights of the citizens of Bayelsa State to freely vote for the candidate of their choice, without harassment, coercion and intimidation as witnessed during the election.
Mrs Ebebi said, “We wish to state emphatically that the conduct of the military during the unconcluded elections, which saw such a respected institution colluding with known common criminals in the creeks to manipulate the electoral process, is sad and sends a very dangerous signal about the advancement of our democracy.
“We have also resolved not to allow the killing and harassment of the people of Bayelsa State as a result of the election wherein the law enforcement agents were watching, to go unaddressed, by the National Human Rights Commission, with a view to seeking justice for the dead and protecting the living who are still vulnerable to such barbaric conduct in future elections in Bayelsa or elsewhere in the country.”
The group said it was sad to witness in broad daylight, how security operatives failed to protect the people, particularly the women from attacks by political thugs and criminals, who were rather shielded by the military during the election.
It lashed out at the military, saying they have proved to be incompetent and unprofessional to get involved in the electoral process, adding that they watched with indifference while political thugs killed law-abiding citizens who were out to exercise their franchise.
The Ijaw women also reminded President Muhammadu Buhari that it is the responsibility of the government to protect the citizens as guaranteed by the Constitution and any attempt by the agencies saddled with the responsibilities of ensuring the protection of such rights, to violate it, is tantamount to a breach of the Constitution.
“We are hereby calling on all the people of Bayelsa, particularly the women, to arise and resist the tyranny that the military occupation of our land during the election brought and be prepared until the conclusion of the process on a date to be set by INEC for elections to hold in Southern Ijaw Local government.
“We are determined to pursue this to a logical conclusion and will not hesitate to nakedly protest any further attempt to militarise, what ordinarily should be a civil process in our state.
“We are peace-loving in Bayelsa and will not allow the desperation to hijack power by some greedy individuals, truncate the peace that has been enjoyed in our state over the years,” the group said.
APC plots to remove Bayelsa REC to rig South Ijaw poll – Group
The South-South Civil Society Coalition wishes to alert the general public on the ongoing attempt by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to ensure the forceful removal of the Bayelsa State Resident Electoral Commissioner Baritor Kpagih.
This latest move by the Bayelsa APC is not unconnected with the refusal of the REC to declare the APC governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva as the winner of the December 5 governorship election, where Sylva only managed to win one of the seven local government areas where election results were declared.
Comrade Osadebe Michael, Publicity Secretary (SSCSC) in a statement said as Nigerians, we believe that the independence of INEC must not be compromised for any political reason and we hereby call on the Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmud Yakubu to be mindful of this latest move by APC because it will be resisted by us.
The entire global community is waiting to see how INEC will be able to redeem its image after the failure of December 5 and any other decision that may further complicate the process will only compound the fear of Nigerians that INEC under Professor Yakubu may become totally incapable of deepening our democracy through credible electoral process.
The people of Bayelsa must be allowed to determine who leads them, this must be without any iota of external influence or manipulation by any individual or group.
God bless Nigeria.
-Leadership