US Observer Group Says Election Shortcomings Orchestrated to Benefit Incumbent, APC

•Military invasion and rampage in Rivers State, troublesome
on several levels
•Clear pattern of desperation, constitutional violation of key
institutions

The United States-Nigeria Law Group, an election observer
initiative, has released a damning election assessment report of
the 2019 election, where it clearly stated that most of the issues
that troubled the 2019 general election were deliberately contrived
to assist the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to retain
power at the centre.

Of particular note is an aspect of the report which claimed that
the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, in both the
Judiciary and INEC matters, violated the constitution of Nigeria,
which guarantees their independence from interference.
From its findings, the group posited that while the electorate
prepared for elections, it was as though the incumbent was
“preparing a military operation.”

In a statement signed by Mr. Emmanuel Ogebe and obtained at the
weekend, the Group said it observed conscious efforts to compromise
the elections and raised early warnings as well as concerns, which
have now been validated and proven by the resulting self-sabotaged
elections.

For example, it noted that INEC announced inconclusive elections
in 6 states out of which PDP was reportedly leading in all but
one.
“This is highly suggestive and unsettling all by itself. However,
there are further indications that similar results in states in
which the APC was leading were not declared inconclusive. Some
states where a rerun was illogical, because the mathematical
probabilities could not conceivably produce a different outcome
have still been scheduled for rerun.

“The principle on cancelled votes versus margin of victory,
which ostensibly informed the inconclusive declarations in state
elections, was not uniformly applied in the presidential elections.
So far the following states have been declared inconclusive – the
most ever in Nigerian history – Benue, Plateau, Adamawa, Sokoto,
Kano and Bauchi states.

“It is especially noteworthy that in the case of Kano State, the
PDP was overwhelming leading when the Deputy Governor seized and
tore the results of the last Local Government to be declared. This
brazen act of brigandage was caught on video and is perhaps
emblematic of how the election results overall have been
hijacked.”

On the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly
elections from February 16 to 23, the group said its investigations
and analysis indicated that the action was orchestrated by the
ruling party based on its dissatisfaction with judiciary
pronouncements on cases affecting its candidates.

According to the election observer group, the Buhari regime had
shown unambiguously its displeasure with both the Judiciary and
INEC for not delivering its preferred outcomes.

It further held that there was a clear pattern of desperation,
constitutional violation and fabrication in the actions of the
regime towards both key institutions that have a critical role in
the elections.

Thus, in this post-election report, the group detailed various
instances in which it said the incumbent president had shown intent
and discernible actions to undermine the elections.

While enumerating several shortcomings of the 2019 election, the
USNLG expressed grave concern at the brazen militarisation of the
elections.
It added that in furtherance of its partisan agenda in both the
Judiciary and INEC, the President Buhari-led APC administration
fabricated a faux court ruling on the basis of which it justified
its unconstitutional acts.

For instance, the USNLG report noted that: “The Buhari regime
acting ostensibly on a private petition interfered with both the
Judiciary and INEC regarding the removal of CJN and election
postponement respectively.”
It said the President’s refusal to sign the electoral reforms into
law showed clearly “the mens rea or criminal intent by the
president not to allow the conduct of credible elections from the
word go.

“Indeed, the president is on record for having said following
the passage of the ‘not-too-young to run’ law, that it should be
only after his re-election. This Freudian slip cements the notion
that he nixed the electoral reforms for the same
self-perpetuation.

“For these and other reasons, it is transparently clear that the
Buhari regime had motive, opportunity, mens rea and actus reus
(criminal intent and culpable acts) and declared intent and
discernible actions to undermine the elections. In this respect,
they were successful in premeditated failure,” it said.

The election observer group therefore said it decided to share
its report for the benefit of the electorate and the international
community for the sake of global democracy.
With regards to the issue of malpractices and activities of
compromised poll officials, the observer group said it has
firsthand report of what transpired in Benue State, for instance,
on the eve of the rescheduled presidential and National Assembly
polls of February 16.

“We gathered that out of a list of about 500 names submitted by
a federal institution to INEC as poll officials, a ruling party
Senator selected those whom he deemed he could ‘work with’. In
addition, the APC Senator doled out millions of naira, which was
distributed to the INEC-trained poll officials at a location in
Makurdi, the Benue State Capital. The temporary poll officials were
called by phone to come and collect the serving Senator’s cash in
person from the said location.”

It also said that before the governorship election of March 9, a
university professor was apprehended with election materials in
Benue State and his vehicle burnt by irate voters, thus reiterating
the fact that it witnessed firsthand, the distribution of cash from
the back of a vehicle to political operatives for unknown purposes
and particularly stunned that the party functionaries were escorted
by police.

The USNLG report stated that operatives of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) apprehended a vehicle loaded
with currency in the trunk of a vehicle of a politician linked to
the APC in February.

While expressing its concern over President Buhari’s actions and
inactions before, during and after the elections, the observer
group said it was deeply concerned at the president’s remarks that
electoral malpractice would attract summary execution.

“We are gravely concerned at the brazen militarisation of these
elections. Buhari has gone beyond militarisation to martialisation
of the election process. We are more concerned at remarks
attributed to the Chief of Army Staff that, ‘If Commander-in-Chief
has given order to the Nigerian Army to that effect, rest assured
that order will be totally and effectively obeyed without any ifs
or buts.”

Specifically, the election observer group lamented the military
invasion of Rivers State and described it as troublesome.

“The military invasion and rampage in Rivers State is
troublesome on several levels not the least of which is: The ruling
party APC was not even a candidate in the elections yet the
government interfered with military might to rig in the most
ignoble and egregious way ever.

“The wicked, oppressive and violent attacks on innocent
civilians and their homes and property in the formerly restive
Niger Delta just for elections, has the real propensity for
re-igniting another armed insurrection in the region.

“It is clear that the overarching objective of the coercive
force is not to install APC, which has no candidate but to
uninstall PDP. Rivers State has been the key rallying point and
resource base for the opposition and the military mission is to
completely gut their capacity by stripping them of power in Rivers
State.”

The group noted that the military denial of involvement was not
credible in the least.
“It should be pointed out that electoral law places security under
INEC and not INEC under security. The army has denied that its
personnel are the ones featured with arms in uniform perpetrating
these atrocities. This response is neither credible nor helpful as
it implies there are fake soldiers on rampage and the real army is
helpless to protect the citizenry from them.”

Despite the pronouncements by the authorities on security
readiness, the observer group noted that between the two elections,
over 200 people were slaughtered in non-voting massacres in Benue,
Zamfara and Kaduna states.
It said it was particularly disheartening that military forces were
mobilised to opposition states for the elections in numbers unseen
in insecurity-plagued states showing a total lack of prioritisation
and callous insensitivity to human lives.

On the Security deployments to Rivers State during the election,
the group said the scenario resembled a war zone.

It maintained that it was in possession of a bizarre video
showing an INEC official admitting that their office was besieged
by the military and results of election officers confiscated,
thereby preventing them from collating the election result.

In addition, the group said: “Viral video footage showed
soldiers overrun the home of the state Education Commissioner as
well as charging through his kitchen chasing after female residents
with guns drawn.

“Other videos show courageous women chanting and keeping
soldiers from breaking in and stealing election results. Yet
another video shows protesters singing Christian choruses, when the
military opened fire on the harmless crowd, injuring several. In
another, the military went to arrest a former militant but were
prevented by members of his community,” the group stated.

In further confirmation of its position that officials of the
ruling party conivived to interfere in conduct of the election, the
group said the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami
had written to INEC advising it to comply with the judgment of the
Court of Appeal by admitting the result of the APC Zamfara state
primaries and also comply with the provisions of section 38 of the
Electoral Act which empowers INEC to postpone the election for the
governorship, National and State Houses of Assembly election. It
said that the AGF actually admitted in writing that the APC needs
“a little time to catch up.”

Such an ” illicit motive could not be clearer nor more dubious –
to score an advantage for a political party”, it said. According to
the group, INEC postponed the elections of February 16th and March
2nd after the Attorney General requested it whether or not the
commission admits that. USNLG said that in further validation of
its stand that the election postponement was contrived for the
benefit of the incumbent party, INEC also allowed the APC in
Zamfara State to field candidates in the rescheduled elections just
like the AG illegally and fraudulently requested.

Also the observer group said that just as was being feared, the
death threats to members of the international community by the
Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai was followed by
restrictions on international observers by the military who
prevented them from monitoring elections in Rivers State.
“The restraint of international observers is not only proof of the
government’s grand design to brazenly rig the elections but also
that resistance would have resulted in their return in “bodyguards”
as earlier warned”.