Friday, December 14, 2018

Nigeria's Electoral Umpire, INEC's Mahmood Yahaya, Unviels His 2019 Rigging Plans.


by Eze Eluchie,

Like his predecessor before him, Atahiru Jega, who had announced a skewed allotment of ‘new Polling Booths', allocating much more of such booths to  areas in Nigeria's North East region where Boko Haram were supposedly in control of than was allocated to entire regions in the South and had also announced the discarding of the use of PVC Cards mid-way into the 2015 Presidential election (an announcement that was deliberately ‘heard and implemented’ by INEC officials mainly in some sections of the country), Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr. Mahmood Yahaya, buoyed by a feeling of impunity, has announced his ‘Golden Rigging Bullet’ well in advance of the elections – allowing so-called Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) resident in camps in Chad and Niger Republic to vote during the forthcoming 2019 general elections.

With the security forces already stretched to their limits guarding and protecting the 120,000+ polling booths across the 36 States and Abuja, pray, who will guard and protect these imaginary polling booths in IDP Centres in Chad and Niger? The Chadian and Nigerien Gendarmes? Will agents of opposition political parties be allowed exit Nigeria (considering the borders are usually closed for the periods of elections) to monitor the polling centres in Chad and Niger Republics’? Where these opposition party agents are even allowed to travel out of Nigeria to those polling centres located in foreign countries, will the authorities of Chad and Niger allow these opposition party agents to enter these IDP Camps to observe and monitor the elections for their parties?

Wonderful. Brazen plan to heist spurious votes.

The IDP population has been a popular tool of embezzlement of public and international donor funds throughout the course of the Buhari administration. From the infamous multimillion dollar ‘contracts’ for grass-cutting contracts supervised by former Secretary to the Federal Government, Babachir Lawal; to the illegal approval of billions of Naira by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, ostensibly for ‘emergency interventions’ in IDP Camps; to disappearance of thousands of bags of rice and other relief materials meant for the IDPs, donated by friendly governments and international relief organizations. One only wonders what will be the fate of the millions of ballot papers to be ‘allocated’ to the IDP Camps in Niger and Chad Republics.

In his folly, the INEC Chairman and his gang failed to realize that these ‘Nigerian’s in IDP camps in Niger and Chad Republics’ (whose numbers supposedly range anywhere from 0 – 7 million) also constitute Nigerians in Diaspora. If Nigerians in Chad and Niger Republics are allowed to vote, then all Nigerians in Diaspora (inclusive of those in Europe, the USA, Asia and so on) MUST be allowed to vote.

Dear INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yahaya, with this skewed plan to allow IDPs vote, you have been caught red-handed with your hands in the cookie jar. Coupled with the fact of your filial relationship with the incumbent occupier of the Office of President of the Federal Republic, the only honourable option left to you now, if indeed you had one iota of care for the sanctity of the 2019 general elections, is to resign your position as INEC Chairman, and allow for an unbiased truly independent umpire to superintend over the said elections.


Picture: Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yahaya


Thursday, November 1, 2018

Nigeria's 2019 General Elections: Testing INEC's Ability to Abide by the Rules.


Professor Mahmood Yakubu
Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
Abuja, FCT.

Dear Professor Yakubu,

NEED FOR CONSISTENCY AND EVEN-HANDEDNESS IN APPLYING THE PROVISIONS OF THE ELECTORAL ACT AND GUIDELINES RELATING TO POLITICAL PARTY PRIMARIES AND ENSURING THAT PARTIES THAT DO NOT CONDUCT PRIMARIES TO SELECT THEIR CANDIDATES ARE NOT ALLOWED TO FIELD CANDIDATES SURREPTITIOUSLY (S)ELECTED FOR INEC ELECTIONS.
RE: PURPORTED (S)ELECTION BY THE IMO STATE CHAPTER OF THE ALL PROGRESSIVE GRAND ALLIANCE (APGA) OF A GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE FOR THE 2019 GUBERNATORIAL ELECTIONS.

Having observed the efforts the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under your Chairmanship is making towards ensuring a free and fair electoral process which conforms with tenets of democratic governance; and efforts by INEC at ensuring compliance with the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended); and the various guidelines towards ensuring that the wishes of the electorate are established  -  particularly as reflected in the extra measures INEC has adopted after the Ekiti and Osun State gubernatorial elections respectively; we are sufficiently motivated to draw your attention the situation in the Imo State chapter of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), in the belief that INEC will make appropriate pronouncements and adequate arrangements to ensure that due process and compliance with relevant statutes is adhered to.

As would likely be well known to your gooodself, Section 87 of the Electoral Act explicitly provides for any candidate for any elections to be organized by INEC to emerge from a Primary Process to which INEC was duly notified and invited; which INEC monitored; and which INEC acknowledges as meeting with laid down criteria.

Under your watch, and with a view to ensure transparency, compliance with due processes and minimizing (and ultimately eliminating) anti-democratic dictatorial tendencies in Nigerian Political Parties, INEC has repeatedly cautioned political parties to ensure that they comply with laws and guidelines geared towards institutionalizing and internalizing democratic culture within the parties.

Lack of Primary elections to select gubernatorial candidate:
In furtherance of and compliance with the provisions of the said Section 87 of the Electoral Act and the extant INEC Guidelines on Political Party Primaries, following the failure of the Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to hold its Governorship Primaries before the end of the period prescribed by INEC for such purpose, INEC had duly, and rightly I must intone, informed the said Political Party, APC, that it was precluded from fielding a candidate for the Governorship elections in Zamfara State for the 2019 gubernatorial elections.

Similar to what transpired with the Zamfara State Chapter of the APC, there was no governorship primaries conducted by the Imo State Chapter of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). To the astonishment, chagrin and protestation of other gubernatorial aspirants of APGA, the name of one of the gubernatorial aspirants in APGA was surreptitiously churned out as the ‘(s)elected candidate’. It is therefore pertinent, in view of the need to maintain consistency and even-handedness in fulfilling INEC’s role as the regulator of political party activities and unbiased umpire, for the pronouncement and declarations made by INEC over the absence of INEC observed and approved primaries for the Zamfara State APC gubernatorial position, be also made with regards to the absence of INEC observed and approved primaries for Imo State APGA gubernatorial position.
 
Motivation for Call
Deepening the democratic space by adherence to established laws and due processes, and ensuring equal and equitable treatment and access for stakeholders in the political and electioneering remains key motivational factors that influence our Firms intervention in the political process.

Sequel to the appointment of your immediate predecessor in office, Professor Attahiru Jega, we had in pursuit of our belief that extant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 had been violated by the appointment of an individual who was not qualified to be INEC Chairman to the office of INEC Chairman, initiated processes, firstly by communication with the Office of the Senate of the Federal Republic and subsequently via litigation in suit No: FHC/L/CS/862/2010 (Ezekwesiri Eluchie Vs. President of the Federal republic & 2 Others). We were vindicated when Constitutional Amendment, which expunged the requirement for the INEC Chairman to be a registered member of a political party, was effected.  

The clear double-standards in INEC’s pronouncements regarding the lack of gubernatorial primaries Zamfara State Chapter of the APC and a similar lack of gubernatorial primaries Imo State Chapter of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) provides our Firm with one more opportunity to use the instrumentality of the law to right wrongs, ensure Justice and adherence to due process.

Call to disallow Imo State Chapter of APGA to present a candidate for the 2019 Imo State gubernatorial elections:
Dear Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in furtherance of our hope that you mean well for the Nigerian electoral system and aspire to leave a legacy of propriety, uprightness and justice in the regulation of political parties and management of the electoral process, we have taken the extra effort to, in addition to presenting the similarities of the lack of gubernatorial primaries in Zamfara State APC and Imo State APGA Chapters, also allowed you a glimpse at our basic motivation for this communication.  We thus call upon your goodself, and INEC, to do the needful and right thing in the circumstances – notify the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) that in view of their not having conducted a Primary election to select their candidate for the gubernatorial elections within the period set by INEC for such elections, the party (APGA) will not be allowed to field a candidate for the 2019 Gubernatorial elections in Imo State.  

Conclusion
What we have requested of your goodself and INEC is squarely within the powers of INEC to make. In the unfortunate event that you choose not to positively adhere to our call, we shall be at liberty to explore other means available within the scope of legalities and Nigerian laws, including recourse to litigation, to ensure that the spirit and intendments of the Electoral Act are complied with and met.

Please remain assured of our high regards.

Your truly,
For: Eze Eluchie & Associates



Eze Eluchie, Esq.
Solicitor.  


Pix: INEC ChairmanProfessor Mahmood Yakubu 



Monday, October 22, 2018

The Blood of Biafrans Inc.: Using the Blood of Her Martyrs as a Tool to Fleece a People.


by Eze Eluchie,

Over half a century after the formal end of the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War (the Biafra Genocide) during which over 2 million people, mostly of the Igbo nation were killed, the term ‘Biafra’, following from the collective devastation, losses suffered in human and material developmental terms, retains deep emotional connotations to the Igbo peoples of South Eastern Nigeria.

Palpable and sustained acts of exclusion, deprivation and deliberate physical underdevelopment of the region by the central government in the Nigerian federation has served to push the ordinarily resilient and resourceful Igbo youth to the cozy embrace of smart alecs who are ever willing to, without any genuine thoughts for the peoples welfare or ‘liberation’ beyond individual self-aggrandizement, feast on the sense of ‘marginalization’ to reap bountiful pecuniary and egoistic harvests.

Smart Alecs:
With tens of millions of energetic and creative youths, disillusioned with the inequitable and unjust Nigerian system to feast upon, it did not take too long for characters that, to all intents and purposes are no different from con-artists, to cash in for the kill – to seek to enrich themselves, using the emotions and pains suffered and felt by the peoples of South Eastern Nigeria during the Biafra Genocide as bait.

Oddly enough, when the leadership of these supposedly ‘Biafra actualization’ organizations are confronted to provide basic specifics of their agitation, such as (i) What really is the territorial area of the proposed ‘Biafra’?; (ii) Will the proposed ‘Biafra’ be a secular, religious or ethnic entity?; (iii) What efforts are being made to ensure genuine grassroots ownership of the agitation process?; the response is often combative accusations of ‘sabotage’. What the leadership of these organizations have in abundance is: smart ways to raise easy cash from the millions who are endeared to the concept of Biafra, the belief in freedoms, liberty and egalitarian spirit – ideals quite distant from the Nigeria of today.

Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB)
Firstly, an amorphous organization, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) created by a supposedly India-trained Lawyer, Ralph Uwazuruike, comes on board - without any discernible plan or chart towards ‘actualizing’ its purpose. With unemployment rates in the 80% to 85% range and the streets of urban and rural communities in the South East region clogged with illions of youths, “stay-at-home” orders and rallies to ‘actualize the State of Biafra’ clearly proved a very popular tool for mobilization – MASSOB wasted no time in honing in on this. Under Uwazuruike’s ‘leadership’, MASSOB unleashed such scams products as: (1) the sales of Biafra International Travel Passports; (2) production and sale of Biafra currencies; (3) production and sale of Republic of Biafra Identity Cards; amongst other paraphernalia. Despite raking in millions of Dollars from the sale of the above items, the leadership of Uwazuruike’s ASSSOB failed to tell their hapless followers that they (the MASSOB leadership) traversed the globe in their Nigeria International Travel Passports, retained truck loads of Nigeria’s currency, the Naira, with which they acquired massive estates and lived very luxurious lifestyles above the dreams of millions of their followers; and had valid Nigerian Identity Cards with which they navigated various bureaucratic hurdles of existence in Nigeria.

One major expository fraud of the Uwazuruike MASSOB was when they pranked the now late war-time leader of the Biafra Republic, Ikemba Odimegwu Ojukwu, to visit Washington DC., USA, to ‘open’ the Biafra House’ in the United States. Upon his arrival in the United States, Ikemba Ojukwu was led to a multi-storey office complex located at No. 1717 K Street, Suite 600, Washington DC 20036, USA., where a ‘ribbon cutting’ ceremony was lavishly celebrated, with the Rising Sun Biafra Flag majestically swaying with the winds atop a flag post on the premises. As lavish and emotional prayers were said at the venue, Ojukwu was palpably close to tears, believing that he was in the midst of persons who had any iota of genuineness and integrity. Alas, at the end of the events, as the Ikemba Ojukwu entourage were still a few blocks away from the ‘Biafra House’, the flag Ojukwu had heroically saluted, was lowered (and has never been raised till this date) – the MASSOB folks, whilst fooling the late Biafran leader that they had acquired a building, had merely paid per the hour on a premises that had conference and virtual office facilities for hire. Cold as Death. If they could do this to Ikemba Odiegwu Ojukwu, these characters

Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB)
Piqued at not being able to access what he deemed a commensurate part of the loot MASSOB had succeeded in fleecing their membership and believers in the ‘Biafra cause’, a young, then unemployed loquacious charismatic youth, Nnamdi Kanu, who had manned MASSOB’s efforts at enlarging their constituents via use of online social media facilities opted to break out and create a separate outfit – the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, with the Radio Biafra London (RBL) as its main thrust.

Coasting on the wings of the immense reach of RBL’s internet-based mediu, the inability of most of its listenership to discern between empty boasts laced with outright lies and spiced with abusive vomits on the one hand, and practicality and reality on the other, IPOB’s popularity amongst Igbo youths exponentially soared. Mazi Kanu was able to amass a cult-like followership for himself within a period of less than 2 years. Cashing in on the Kanu-mania, plots to fleece the hapless youths disenchanted with the Nigerian situation were immediately rolled out. Such fairy tale ideas as (a) the need for arms purchases for a ‘Biafra guerrilla force; (b) the need to purchase radio transmitting equipment to rival those of the British BBC; (c) the need to raise and sustain a Biafra Secret Service and other bureaucratic establishments; amongst others fables, as spurious as they are and sound, proved to be money-spinning tales for the IPOB leader.
 
Donations rolled in, in the millions of Dollars from all over the world, as some Igbo’s who fell for the scam had genuinely thought that a ‘saviour had come’ – some actually equated Mazi Kanu to the Jewish exodus inspiration and leader, Moses.

Using its propaganda outlet, the Radio Biafra London, ludicrous stories were bandied about of support for IPOB and ‘Biafra independence’ from such world leaders as Donald Trump, Benjamin Natenyahu, Angela Merkel and so on. News was likewise disseminated that several international organizations such as the United Nations, the Africa Union, and the West African regional body, ECOWAS, had already reserved space for the ‘Biafra Flag’ and a delegation from IPOB in their meetings. These lies, ridiculous and laughable as they were, proved infectious. Repeated and garnished with rumours, the lies attained a life of their own and further embellished the invisibility and deity status of the IPOB leader.

As the dates for the commencement of ‘guerrilla warfare’ and the BBC-like broadcasts passed and became elusive, the major donors towards the IPOB cause, who were in real terms, victims of a sophisticated scam, began to demand for refunds. It was at the stage that the Federal Government effected the arrest of Mazi Kanu. The arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, inadvertently proved to be the IPOB leaders saving grace from the clutches of those who he had fleeced of huge sums.

Inept State Interventions.
As with the case of MASSOBs Uwazuruike, the arrest by State authorities, prolonged extra-judicial detentions, failure to abide by due process and the rule of law in prosecuting suspects and palpable partiality in the treatment of persons merely congregating in pursuit of the universally enshrined and accepted right to self-actualization on the one hand and extremist Islamist terrorists on the other (with the former unfortunately harshly maltreated whilst the later are accorded red carpet-like papering by Nigeria State operators), swiftly and justifiably, transformed detainees associated with the clamour for Biafra (no matter how uncoordinated and farfetched such clamour is) to super-hero status in the perception of most Igbo’s.

Unprofessional and grotesque response by Nigeria State security and military operatives which led to more extra-judicial killings, maiming and destruction of properties in diverse locations in Igbo land, such as in Aba, Owerri, Onitsha and elsewhere, served to galvanize and strengthen support for what is supposed to be ‘the Biafra cause’. This inadvertently or indirectly, made characters who ordinarily, after extracting huge financial benefits to themselves, would have simply faded with the winds, continue to remain in circulation, albeit with less sway.

Post-incarceration period.
In an odd twist of faith, after the originators of the twin identified organizations which were able to commercialize the concept of Biafra for self aggrandizement have had a prolonged encounter in the custody of the Nigerian government and its notoriously sleazy approach at addressing issues, the said originators seemingly capitulate and adopt stance that were hitherto at variance with the ideals they had previously projected and expressed a willingness to ‘pay the ultimate price’ for. In the case of Ralph Uwazuruike, soon after his prolonged ‘incarceration’, he came out a “new person”, willing to enter into alliance with such characters as the Chief security Officer and henchman to Nigeria’s brutal dictator, General Sani Abacha, Major Al-Mustapha, and profess lines and positions that were clearly at variance with the views of the an overwhelming majority of Igbo’s.

In the case of Mazi Kanu, after an absence of several months from public glare, when all manners of theories were ventilated on how the Nigerian State might have eliminated the once loquacious IPOB leader, Kanu, in a most suspect manner deftly reappeared in public supposedly via a radio broadcast on his RBL. Ironically, in the broadcast supposedly made by Mazi Kanu’s, listeners were baffled that the IPOB leader who appeared incapable of making any sentence without raining abuses and ethno-religious invectives on Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, appeared quite civil and respectful in his statements, as though very concerned not to hurt President Buhari. Rather Mazi Kanu opted to, against the widespread accepted desire of the Igbo peoples to use the democratic opportunities created by the forthcoming general elections to make their views known on the direction of Nigeria, urged the members of his IPOB (who are all Igbo’s) to boycott the 209 general elections – a boycott that will strengthen the existing status quo in Nigeria.

Going forward:
Like MASSOBs Uwazuruike before him, IPOBs Kanu is clearly, with his continuing opting to take positions at variance with the generality of the Igbo nation since his interaction with the Nigerian State, on a path that will consign him to the side lines as the ever pragmatic Igbo’s continue in their legitimate quest for self-actualization, self-determination and general wellbeing within a restructured and renegotiated Nigeria.

Vigilance is urged, to ensure that going forward, the victims and descendants of victims of the Biafra Genocide, will not allow opportunists to exploit their grief and lack of closure for pecuniary gains.  

There are countless peoples of the South East region and others interested in the cause of Justice, Accountability for international cries, Ensuring Closure over past acts of ass atrocities, Equality, Self-determination and Self-actualization, who are assiduously working towards the lofty goals itemized above – these peoples, comprised of ordinary folks, activists, professionals and peoples from all works of life, are conscious of the fact that there are established diverse procedures and protocols to attain desired quests, and will continue on these paths till desired goals are attained. The immediate victims and descendants of victims of the Biafra genocide should thus be at liberty to engage and interrogate future agitations to ascertain the genuineness and goodfaith of such quests – and not merely be used, fleeced and duped, as has thus far been the case.

The era for those who feast on the blood of martyrs, trampling on the graves of the victims of a most atrocious episode in our history, the Biafra Genocide, for pecuniary gains, must not be allowed to continue. 


Picturea: {Pix 1} MASSOB leader, Ralph Uwazuruike, alongside now deceased war-time leader of the Biafra Republic, Ikemba Odimegwu Ojukwu at the ‘opening of ‘Biafra House’ in Washington DC; {Pix 2} IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, receiving obeisance from his members.
  


Thursday, September 13, 2018

Chinese Loans to Nigeria: Need to ascertain the validity of loans supposedly advanced to the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the Peoples Republic of China.


by Eze Eluchie,


Your Excellency, President Xi Jinping,
The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
c/o Embassy of China to Nigeria
Abuja.

Dear Sir,

CHINESE LOANS TO NIGERIA: NEED TO ASCERTAIN THE VALIDITY OF LOANS SUPPOSEDLY ADVANCED TO THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA BY THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

Firstly, kindly accept our heartfelt congratulations on the firm and masterly manner you have steered the affairs of your country, leading her to enviable heights amongst nations. Your unique achievements which have now served to position The People’s Republic as a global leader and lead advocate for Free Trade, International Commerce, shared prosperity and multilateralism, particularly in the face of increasing introspective stance of the United States, is most commendable.

Likewise, your leadership role in striving to create alternate structures for global commerce and international engagement, and increasing financial, military and technical resources available to diverse entities and countries across the world, increasingly solidifies China’s position as a rising constant in global affairs.

It is with regards to the item mentioned in the preceding paragraph, “making financial.....resources available to diverse entities and countries”, with particular reference to financial assistance and loans purportedly accorded the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that we now have cause to engage in this correspondence with your Office.  

There has been a noticeable spike in the reports and numbers of Loans and financial facilities advanced from your Government and Chinese financial institutions, ostensibly to the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The loans and Financial facilities announced to have been accorded the current Muhammadu Buhari-led government in the course of the past three years has been unprecedented in the annals of Nigeria’s history and probably attaining unmanageable proportions, leading to serious concerns being raised in informed circles in Nigeria regarding the utility, authenticity and legal status of such loans and facilities.

As Your Excellency may well be aware, or have been informed by the Embassy of China in Nigeria, there are peculiar Constitutional and administrative prerequisites which serve to accord validity and legality to and authenticate any agreements (inclusive of agreements according Nigeria international loans and financial facilities) entered into (or purported to have been entered into) on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. When such prerequisites are absent, agreements purported to have been entered into with the Federal Republic of Nigeria are non-committal and not worth the paper they are written on.

I will like to bring to your notice the fact that Section 12 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), clearly stipulates that for any treaty entered into by officials of the Nigerian State to be valid and obligate the Nigerian state, such treaty must be ratified and domesticated by Nigeria’s National Assembly. Sections 80 – 83 of the same Constitution also outlaws any withdrawal of funds from Nigeria’s national treasury without prior authorization from the national Assembly – inclusive of repayments for and servicing of financial facilities earlier advanced..

A combination of the twin provisions of the Nigerian Constitution highlighted above absolves the Government and peoples of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from obligations and liabilities of whatsoever treaties entered into by any individual or entities whatsoever (inclusive of any present occupant of the Office of President of the Federal Republic), purporting to act for the Nigerian State. The Federal Republic of Nigeria cannot be held liable or obligated for Loans and or financial facilities and any other commitments or covenants purportedly entered into on Nigeria’s behalf which said agreements/treaties were not ratified and domesticated by the Nigerian National Assembly.

The caveats being raised here are particularly germane when the increasing agitation for holistic restructuring and renegotiation of Nigeria and the skewed and opaque manner with which the loans and financial facilities sourced from The Peoples Republic are deployed, are factored in. 

Let it be clearly pointed out at this juncture that this is not a call to cease all bilateral relationships and developmental collaborations and exchanges with the Federal Republic of Nigeria, rather it is a call for increased diligence and adherence to due processes towards ensuring that in reality when agreements are intended to be entered into with the Federal Republic, it is indeed the Federal Republic that is a party in such agreement and not merely some smart alecs (in both China and Nigeria) who are lining their pockets whilst purporting to enter into non-existent, non-binding bogus loan agreements and financial dealings. With knowledge of your governments swift and resolute stance against corruption by officials, we have no doubt that issues raised here will be accorded the urgent attention they deserve.

Let it also not be mistaken that this correspondence, in any way, serves to encourage disinterest in or does not welcome Chinese investments in Nigeria and across Africa in line with the noise orchestrated by some reactionary forces who have themselves bled Nigeria and the African continent dry for quite awhile – all investment which profit the domestic population are welcome.

Remain assured of our high regards.
For: Alert Citizenry.


Eze Eluchie, Esq.


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Picture: The Nigerian and Chinese Presidents, Muhammadu Buhari and President Xi Jinping.



Tuesday, September 4, 2018

As Another Mass Suicide Staged as ‘a Syrian Government Chemical Attack’ looms.


By Eze Eluchie

As the Syrian military and their Russian backers mass around the city of Idlib for what promises to be one-hell-of-a-dog-fight to retake the last remaining stronghold of the rebels in Syria, a battle that will, like others before in Allepo, Ghouta and Douma, end in favour of the forces of Bashir al-Assad, the rebels will as usual, try their oft repeated ploy to elicit a congregation of global revulsion against the Syrian Government by unleashing a suicidal attack against rebel held territories with the aim of eliciting global condemnation and blame for the attack on Syrian authorities.

When it is realized that slightly over 10,000 thousand Al-Nusra, Al-Qeida and other extremist Islamist terrorist are embedded with more than 2 million people in Idlib, terrorists who have shown a propensity for suicidal attacks and repeatedly exhibited no qualms in self-sacrifice and inflicting harms on self to spite the ‘enemy’, one understands the real possibility of the terrorists doing whatsoever they imagine would discredit the al-Assad regime – including recourse to using chemical weapons in rebel-held Idlib.

Threats by the US administration to strike at Syrian government forces in the event that chemical weapons are used in efforts at liberating Idlib can only serve to strengthen the resolve of the terrorists elements in Idlib to commit acts of mass suicide of epic proportions to engender global condemnation of  President al-Assad and set up a likely confrontation between US and Russian forces, who have rightly committed towards helping their Syrian allies to ensure territorial integrity of Syria is maintained.

It will really be ideal for safe-corridors to be provided for civilians and combatants who are willing to lay down their arms, trapped in Idlib, to exit the city, to allow for an expedited end to the now 7-year old Syrian civil war. The human catastrophe the Syrian civil war should be brought to an end as soon as possible to allow for the commencement of the rebuilding of this once great and historic territory.

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Picture: Children being fronted in protests against planned Syrian military efforts to liberate the last remaining rebel-held city of Idlib.



Thursday, August 9, 2018

Saudi-Canadian Face-off: Exploring the Chink in the Western Armour.

by Eze Eluchie,

A few months ago, all that was required to get any errant ‘tyrannical’ State which had supposedly flouted recognized international human rights principles back on track, was for any Western Government to express concern over such violations. Worries expressed by relatively tiny Western countries such as Luxembourg or even the Principality of Liechtenstein, was enough to send chills down the spine of Governments across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and wheresoever. The Government being targeted with such outwardly expressed concern would, at the very least, roll out mechanisms to defend or justify its positions and except with the case of perceived extreme States such as North Korea, China and a few others, strive to explain its position or

That was before Donald Trump happened.

Nowadays, the pendulum has shifted. The ideological unity that made the West a formidable global force has waned. A chink has appeared in the all-for-one-and-one-for-all armour that once served to embolden otherwise minion States to talk down on other states far removed from their immediate geographical spheres. The spectre of a unified Sword of Damocles, personified in the likelihood of economic and political sanctions and international ostracization, hanging over errant States, which had hitherto served to keep non-Western countries on edge and ‘in-check’, was no longer in existence. Countries elsewhere now feel at liberty to assert themselves in the face of ‘lectures’ on their economy, human rights and social issues. The genie was out of the bag.

Clearly, when it expressed ‘concern’ over the detention of Saudi human right activists, Samar and Rafi Bardawi, The Dominion of Canada had not factored in the new global realities – the fact that in the Trump-era, every Western State is on its own. Reliance on previous Western solidarity in addressing issues of concern in non-Western States was no longer the norm or a foregone presupposition. For each and every such moves, you either await the early morning views of the President of the United States as expressed on Twitter or risk going it all alone. This lesson, Canada is learning the hard and long way.

The robust aggressive response of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Canada’s ‘expression of concern’ was simply not anticipated. Sacking the Canadian Ambassador; stopping flights from the Saudi national carrier (Saudia) to Canada; withdrawal of Saudi citizens on scholarships to Canadian educational institutions and with any more escalatory measures set to be rolled out, the Saudi authorities appear intent to set a defining tone to interference in what it considers its domestic affairs by Western countries. The deafening silence from the European Union and EU member States and the ere advice from the White House that both Canada and Saudi authorities should handle the matter with care, has left Canada feeling terribly lonely and like an island.

The new development marks the onset of very worrisome and trying times for freedoms, activists and liberals across the globe, the protection of fundamental rights across the world is now very much in question. Tyrants will try to exploit the situation to undermine fundamental rights and the commonality of humanity. Western countries, using the instrumentality of their combined, unified and cohesive angst against infractions on human dignity and rights, anywhere in the world, had served, to a great extent, as a bulwark against the excesses of dictators and oppressive regimes.

The exchanges between Saudi Arabia and Canada will no doubt, be observed with great trepidation and concern by progressives and activists in emerging societies, and concealed joy and expectations by dictators in far-flung territories.

President Donald Trump is really changing, for the worse, the face and modus of international cooperation and relations as the world had known it.



Picture: Flags of Saudi Arabia and Canada



Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Petition to the UNSC. Re: Buhari at the ICC Hq. Compromising the Integrity and Impartiality of the International Criminal Court, Its Processes and Procedures


The President
United Nations Security Council
UN Plaza
New York.

Dear Sir,

Compromising the integrity and impartiality of the International Criminal Court, its processes and procedures:
Re: Petition against the invitation to and high level reception at events marking the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Rome statute of the head of a government (Nigerian ruler, President Muhammadu Buhari) subject to active investigations and likely prosecution by the Institutions and Authorities of the ICC.


We are attorneys based in Nigeria and are very conversant with the matters over which we now petition your Office.

Sequel to the powers conferred on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court under Article 5(1) of the Rome Statute, investigations were initiated into several atrocities within the jurisdiction of the ICC, committed by and or under the supervision and authority of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Some of the matters being investigated by the Office of The Prosecutor of the ICC (OTP) include the following:
1. The December 2015 extra-judicial mass killings and burials of over One Thousand members of the Shiite Islamic sect (under the auspices of Islamic Movement of Nigeria) by Nigerian soldiers in Zaria, Kaduna State (North central Nigeria);
2. The various torture, attacks and extra-judicial mass killings and burials of members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) by various national land regional security agencies across the Southern and Eastern regions of Nigeria.

Sequel to its active investigations into the situations in Nigeria, The OTP-ICC has communicated some of its preliminary findings which acknowledged violation of international statutes and human rights principles to the Nigerian Government, via it’s correspondences with the office of the Nigerian Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.  

The Nigerian Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has publicly acknowledged the continuing investigations by the OTP-ICC into various matters in Nigeria.

Following the ICC investigations, the peoples and groups who had suffered immeasurably from the atrocities being investigated by the OTP-ICC and the Nigerian populace in general felt assured that there would, at the very least, be some measure of international accountability for the various mass atrocities that was beginning to assume the status of societal norms in present day Nigeria. 

It was under this sense of hope that Nigerians were stunned at the announcement, barely 48 hours to the epic of events commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Rome Statute of the ICC, that the Nigerian ruler, Retired General Muhammadu Buhari, had been invited as a Guest Speaker to ‘The Solemn Hearing of the ICC’.

Rtd. Gen. Buhari did indeed attend and make a presentation as the Guest Speaker at the said Solemn Hearing of the ICC, in the Chamber of the ICC, the Hague, Netherlands on Tuesday, 17th July 208

In an apparent effort to rub-in the pains of the insult (felt by the victims of mass atrocities in Nigeria under the regime of Retired General Buhari) of an invitation from the ICC to a man who the victims of the atrocities considered the arrow head of the regime which continues to inflict and perpetuate mass atrocities, Buhari’s spokesperson, Mr. Femi Adesina, issued a Press Release stating inter alia: “He is the only Head of State invited to the ICC’s 20th anniversary and senior Nigerian officials see it as a positive recognition and appreciation of Nigeria’s support to the ideals and objectives of the Court”.

In a most outlandish deployment of the ICC invitation extended to Retired General Buhari, a Nigerian Federal Lawmaker, Abdulmuminu Jubril averred, in a widely publicized interview in Nigeria, that the invite to Buhari was in acknowledgement of Buhari’s integrity and high status. Mr. Jubril stated thus:  “Few weeks ago, the president was in ICC as part of all he has done fighting corruption in this country from when he was a young military officer till date. And when he was there, I met a senior diplomat in one of the developed countries and I asked him a question, how can Nigeria president, an African president from Nigeria is the only president in the history of the ICC that has ever been invited to make such presentation. And he said to me, he showed me about a 100-page document that was carried out, collaborative exercise by security agencies across about twenty European and the Americans..ermh, the United States of America and this is lying down on the desk of a lot of embassies and presidents all around the country. And this security exercise was done on about thirty serving and former Africa Heads of state. Only president Buhari achieved the highest indices of integrity which they called XXXX1. Only President Muhammdu Buhari achieved that. And I got that document, read that document; I was shocked, almost moved to tear”.

The expected cumulative effect of the presence of Buhari as a Guest Speaker at the 20th anniversary Solemn Hearing of the ICC in the hallowed and revered Chambers of the ICC is two-fold:
(i)  Firstly, it destroys whatsoever hopes the immediate victims of mass atrocities perpetuated by the Buhari-led regime might have nurtured in the ICC as an international arbiter and unbiased venue to seek justice for mass atrocities and crimes against humanity.
(ii) Secondly, and perhaps more weightily, it raises the likelihood that the OTP-ICC and perhaps the Presidency and Justices of the ICC can be, or might have been, compromised by undue interaction with a subject under investigation. Other countries, particularly in the African continent, where there has been a resurgence of questions as to the likelihood of bias of the ICC and its procedures in the continent, might now feel justified, by the invite to, visit and elaborate reception accorded to the Nigerian ruler, Rtd. General Buhari, to reconsider their countries continued membership of the ICC.

The presence of Rtd. Gen. Buhari at the ICC’s 20th anniversary commemorations and the continuing familiarity to the ICC being portrayed by Nigerian Government officials squarely come within the purview of acts cited in Articles 42(5) and 46 of the Rome Statute, requiring urgent and strict measures to restore and retain the credibility of the ICC and its processes.

Increased impunity
Resulting from the supposed ‘endorsement’ accorded the Nigerian ruler, Rtd. Gen. Buhari, by the ICC, there has been palpable increasing acts of impunity which is adversely impacting on the human right situation and Rule of Law environment in Nigeria. Of particular note is the blockade on the residences of the leadership of the Nigerian Parliament, the attempted coup against the Nigerian National Assembly and increasing spate of brutality on the civil populace by law enforcement agencies.

There is the likelihood that if immediate and expedient action is not taken to distance the ICC and its institutions from the semblance of having ‘endorsed’ the ‘integrity’ and ‘human rights’ situation in Nigeria, more atrocities will be unleashed on the peoples of Nigeria.


Request:
It is in view of the foregoing that we urge your goodself, in exercise of your implied supervisory functions entered into under Article 2 of the Rome Statute, to inquire into the mechanisms, practices and operational modalities of the ICC, with particular reference to the Presidency and Justices of the ICC, on the one hand, and the Office of The Prosecutor on the other, and their various interactions with persons, entities  and Governments subject to ICC investigations and likely prosecution by the ICC, with particular reference to their interactions with the Nigerian ruler, Rtd. Gen. Buhari.

Considering the notoriety of the Nigerian State with regards to corruption issues, the continuing and increasing interactions and familiarizations between the Nigerian Government and the Nigerian ruler (which are subject of ICC investigations) and the Presidency, Justices and Prosecutor of the ICC, objective observers will have no other choice than to conclude that the improper interactions might lead to obscuring and or obviating the cause of justice for not only the victims of mass atrocities and crimes against humanity perpetuated by the regime in Nigeria, but also directly negatively impact on the independence and erstwhile respect the ICC enjoyed internationally, and more particularly, in the African continent.


In anticipation of your expedient interventions, we remain,

Your truly,
For: Eze Eluchie & Associates



Eze Eluchie, Esq.
Attorney.
Convener, Colloquium on Genocides, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity.


Cc:
1. The President, International Criminal Court
2. The Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court
3. Adama Dieng, Special Adviser to the Secretary General on Prevention of Genocides
3. Michael Frost, The UN Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Right Defenders



Pix: Nigerian ruler, Rtd. General Buhari with the President and Justices of the International Criminal Court, The Hague, The Netherlands, after delivering his presentation at the 20th anniversary m Hearing. 7th July 2018



Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Buhari at the ICC: Desecrating the International Humans Right System.


by Eze Eluchie

The crowning event of the 20th anniversary commemorations of the coming into force of the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court (ICC) was unwittingly turned into the fall from lofty heights of the ICC with the calibre of person who was invited to stain the hallowed walkways and chambers of the erstwhile reputable institution.

When the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court adopted the Rome Statute on the 17th of July 1998, there had been universal celebration and expectations that the immunity tyrants across the world accorded themselves for hurts and crimes they commit within their territories would be brought to an end by the internationalization of responsibilities, jurisdiction and consequences for atrocities no matter where committed and by whosoever. The mandate of the ICC established under the Rome Statute gave the ICC wide ranging powers to investigate, prosecute and punish persons, no matter what positions they occupy, who commit specified vile and heinous crimes, such as Genocides, Crimes against humanity, and other mass atrocities.

In keeping with its mandate and to the admiration of all lovers of humanity, the ICC undertook laudable interventions to hold perpetrators of mass atrocities in Congo DRC, Darfur, Sudan and Kenya, amongst other countries, to account. It was also expected that with multiple and widespread cases of well orchestrated and organized acts of mass atrocities being witnessed across the globe in such diverse territories as Syria, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Venezuela, Uganda, Congo DRC., North Korea amongst others, that the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute will serve to create renewed impetus and vigour to energize the ICC establishment to effectively pursue and actualize its mandate.  

With an announcement which jolted the International Human Rights community and was obviously made to mock efforts at ensuring accountability for the various atrocities committed by it and launder the image of the increasingly despotic and anti-democratic regime, the Government of Nigeria announced that the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari had been ‘invited’ by the ICC to be a Guest Speaker at events commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute.

The shock of the announcement, which was made barely 48 hours to the event, was palpable across the world and caught activists worldwide flat-footed, as there was little to no time to effectively react to what was clearly a most unthought out gaffe by the ICC. The announcement coming a few weeks after the Nigerian Attorney General had announced that the Nigerian government was under active investigations by the ICC, on account of several atrocities committed in the course of the current governments existence, was to say the least, quite shocking and gave rise to suspicions that untoward and spurious ‘arrangements’ might have been effected to ensure and secure the ‘invite’.

The invite automatically stimulates a plethora of questions: The Head of a government under several active and ongoing investigations by the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC, being invited to speak at the ICC?  A Muhammadu Buhari under whose tenure over a thousand Shiite Muslims were slaughtered in Zaria (Kaduna State, North-Central Nigeria), under flimsy pretexts? the Muhammadu Buhari under whose command unarmed pro-Biafra protesters were mowed down by soldiers in Aba (Abia State, South-Eastern Nigeria); A Muhammadu Buhari who has repeatedly asked the victims of ethnic cleansing being perpetuated by Herdsmen to go back and co-habit/accommodate their killers whilst his soldiers looked the other way as the atrocities were being committed?; A Muhammadu Buhari who had confessed to partaking in the Biafra genocide where over 2 million persons had been killed? The same Muhammadu Buhari whose ‘law enforcement’ officials are framing up opposition politicians and embarking on intense witch-hunting exercises to targeted segments of the Nigerian population?; and a plethora of other minuses. And this is the character that the ICC found worthy to grace and speak at the 20th anniversary commemorations of the Rome Statute?

Other germane questions now ensuing include: Why was Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, hounded with relish by the ICC despite clear evidence that the entire prosecution was a fabrication of external elements distant from Kenya? Was the pursuit of Libya’s Saif al-Islam Ghadaffi and Cote D’Ivoire’s Laurent Gbagbo by the ICC based on non-altruistic considerations? What really did Sudanese ruler, Omar al-Bashir commit to deserve the ICC’s ire that the ‘invited speaker’ at the ICC 20th anniversary has not surpassed? Were those being ‘investigated’ and ‘prosecuted’ by the ICC unable to meet up with some other thrifty considerations which the Nigerian ruler easily met, to warrant the unfortunate invitation, rather than formal arrest and prosecution?

If a Buhari could have been invited to speak, why not Omar al-Bashir?

One begins to wonder if ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda and the Justices of the ICC did not feel the sticky wetness of congealed blood of innocents as they shook hands with Buhari whilst welcoming him to the ICC Headquarters in The Hague. As Buhari’s mostly incoherent ramblings filled the Chambers of the ICC during his presentations, did the audience not hear the eerie whisper of the voice of the thousands of innocent victims who were forcefully translated to the great beyond under Buhari’s watch and rulership?

It is such actions, as the invitation extended to a fascist ruler to hobnob with authorities and instruments meant to advance the course of international human rights and justice, which justify the withdrawal of the United States from erstwhile pivotal agencies for the advancement of human rights and justice such as the United Nations Human Rights Council.  

The International Criminal Justice system took a deep cut when the Nigerian ruler was admitted to the Chambers of the ICC, not as a suspect undergoing trial but as a ‘speaker’.  It is highly contestable whether the system will survive such a fundamental assault. A thorough cleansing of the now jaundiced system is required – a truly sad day for international human rights, Justice and Humanity generally.


Picture: Nigeria’s ruler, Muhammadu Buhari, delivering his speech at the ICC on 17th July 2019