GLOBAL watchdog, Amnesty International, has again warned the federal government to ensure that the presidential and National Assembly elections fixed for February 25 are free from violence and intimidation.
It also urged the government to ensure that effective measures are put in place to protect all participants and prevent human rights violations.
In a statement issued late Tuesday and signed by its Media Manager, Isa Sanusi and made available to News Point Nigeria, the global rights group called on political parties, politicians, security forces and interest groups to refrain from condoning, or engaging in, violence or incitement that could deprive people of their human rights.
Sanusi quoted the Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, as saying: “The desperation of political actors during election campaigns, expressed recently through cases of incitement, as well as attacks on campaign convoys and individuals in some states, is unacceptable. The failure of the authorities to bring to justice those responsible for deadly violence during previous elections has created an atmosphere of impunity and emboldened others.
“There is a pattern of gender-based violence, like threatening women and girls with rape designed to intimidate or prevent them voting, that must cease. Nigerian authorities must uphold their human rights obligations under international law and the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) by making sure that advocacy of hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence has no place in the country.”
Recounting how the leader of the Labour Party in the Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Victoria Chimtex, was killed on November 28, 2022; Olumo Abolaji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State was killed after she was kidnapped in March 2022, a bus carrying journalists in the campaign convoy of Bola Tinubu, the governing APC presidential candidate in Lagos, was attacked on 19 June 2022 and others, Ojigho called on security agencies to constantly be at alert to tackle insecurity during the elections.
She also noted that security situation in the South-east has deteriorated as the election approaches.
“These violent incidents are deeply worrying and may have implications for the general human rights situation before, during and after the elections.
“We have received reports of supporters of some politicians violently targeting political opponents. The authorities must stamp out any potential impunity by ensuring that these incidents are investigated and that those responsible are swiftly brought to justice in fair trials,”Ojigho said.
Amnesty International further called on the Nigerian authorities to ensure that journalists, local and international election observers and other stakeholders can carry out their activities safely before, during and after the elections, without fear of violence or intimidation.
It noted that it would monitor the elections and document the human rights situation to help ensure that perpetrators are held to account, no matter who they are, and that victims are provided with access to justice and effective remedies.
Osai Ojigho said: “There should be no room for human rights violations. The Nigerian authorities, political parties and candidates must publicly condemn any intimidation and any advocacy of hatred and incitement. This is a time for all stakeholders to demonstrate that they embrace human rights and to commit to the promotion and protection of human rights in Nigeria.”
