The leading civil Rights advocacy group – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS
ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has urged president Muhammadu Buhari to stop
the reign of impunity and arbitrariness within the national and Sokoto state’s
hierarchies of All Progressives Congress (APC) with specific reference to the
clear breach of both the Nigerian constitution and the APC constitution in the
purported ‘expulsion’ of the national vice chairman of All Progressives
Congress (APC) Alhaji Inuwa Abdul-Kadir (SAN).
Besides, the Rights group has called the attention of president
Buhari to the ongoing vicious clampdown and political witch hunt of All
Progressives Congress’ governorship candidate in the 2019 election in Cross
Rivers state Senator John Owan-Enoh by the Cross Rivers state governor Mr. Ben
Ayade. HURIWA said in spite of the fact that it had petitioned the National
Human Rights commission on the subject matter, the Cross Rivers State
government has escalated his attacks against the APC chieftain using the
machinery of the state's justice ministry of justice to frame up a tenuous
murder charge against his opponent who is challenging his re-election before
the Governorship Tribunal.
In a media statement issued by the national coordinator comrade
Emmanuel Onwubiko and the national media affairs director Miss Zainab Yusuf,
HURIWA accused the Sokoto state branch of APC and the national leadership of
the party of gross illegality in the conspiracy to procure the removal of the
national vice chairman of the party Alhaji Inuwa Abdul-Kadir (SAN) without
following the due process of the law and by totally disrespecting a pending
litigation on the same subject matter which is before the Sokoto state high
court of justice. HURIWA accused the Sokoto state chapter of being manipulated
to undertake these cocktails of illegality just as HURIWA wondered why the
National Secretariat of the party has allowed itself to be railroaded into
adopting a measure that offends section 6 and section 36(5) of the Constitution
which are the judicial powers of the federation conferred on the courts of
competent jurisdiction and also fair hearing for all citizens which is
sacrosanct.
The Rights group has also accused the Sokoto state branch of APC
of seeking to stampede the national vice chairman of APC out of the party over
some unsubstantiated and vague petitions arising from the conduct of the
governorship and presidential election in Sokoto state.
The Rights group averred that the originating petition by the
member of Magajin Gari ‘A’ ward of APC in Sokoto state one Alhaji Naibi Umar
Abubakar alleging certain anti-party activities against the national vice
chairman (north west) Alhaji Inuwa Abdul-Kadir (SAN) was never heard by an
unbiased panel given that the panel set up to look into the petition was made up
of the ward chairman and secretary both of whom are interested parties just as
the Rights group stated that the hasty and desperate decision in the
announcement of the purported 'expulsion' of the National Vice Chairman (North
West) was done in defiance of a subsisting litigation.
HURIWA recalled that the petition had alleged amongst others as
follows: That since his election as the National Vice Chairman of the APC for
North-West Inuwa Abdulkadir did not convene any zonal meeting of the APC in
order to assess the fortunes of the party following defections to PDP of many
party chieftains and members from the zone, Inuwa Abdulkadir did not attend or
participate in the general stakeholders meeting of the State Chapter of APC
where stakeholders discussed and considered the mode of Primary Elections to be
adopted by State Chapter of APC during the concluded Primary Elections of the
party; and Inuwa Abdulkadir despite being a delegate did not attend or
participate in the Direct Presidential Primary election of the APC where
President Muhammadu Buhari was elected as candidate of the APC for 2019
Presidential elections.
HURIWA recalled that fearing that the petition whose contents
are totally false was meant to rope him in and push him out of the party, the
national vice chairman – (Northwest) filed a suit against the party in the
Sokoto state High court which was served on all the respondents including the
All Progressives Congress just as it expressed shock that the party's acting
national publicity secretary proceeded to announce the purported expulsion and
later suspension of the National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress
Inuwa Abdul-Kadir in clear breach of a pending suit.
However, the Rights group has asked president Buhari to call the
national secretariat of APC to order because it will be a great disservice to
the principle of rule of law that arbitrariness is allowed to become the order
of the day.
HURIWA argued that the Sokoto state branch of APC lacks the
power to recommend the expulsion of a national officer elected at a national
convention of the party just as the group condemned the national secretariat of
the party for relying on a fictitious petition to reach a determination that is
null and void at every material time.
Speaking about the Cross Rivers state governor’s witch hunt
targeting the APC governorship candidate Senator John Owan-Enoh, the Rights
group stated that it had earlier dragged governor Ayade to the National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC) over allegations of playing politics over the recent
case of the gruesome killings of five members of both the People’s Democratic
party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Bendeghe Ekiem
community, Etung Local government Area Council of Cross Rivers State.
HURIWA disclosed that the National Human Rights commission informed it that the
governor has been asked to defend the petition.
HURIWA which condemns the
killings of these citizens has also expressed shock and disappointment with the
government of Cross Rivers State for selectively probing the remote and
immediate cause of the dastardly killing of the two members of his political
Party- the People’s Democratic party (PDP) but has maintained a shocking sense
of insensitivity regarding the three other members of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) who also reportedly lost their precious lives during the
unfortunate fracas that reportedly resulted in the fatalities including the
ward leader of the People’s Democratic party (PDP) Mr. Ayuk Ogar.
HURIWA said it told the Rights commission that it has watched
with considerable shock and trepidation since over the last couple of months
that this incident occurred to see how the state government will handle this
and similar other clashes in Cross Rivers State but asserted that from all
indications, it would seem that the Cross Rivers government has adopted a
politically motivated approaches towards finding out the exact circumstances
that occasioned the conflict just as the Rights group accused amorphous groups
with links to the Governor for blackmailing the Governorship Candidate of All
Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 governorship polls Senator John Owan
Enoh and for spreading unsubstantiated innuendos and libelous allegations
against him even when he is not remotely connected to the parley in Bendeghe
Ekiem Community which led to the slaughtering of members of both the PDP and
his own All Progressives Congress(APC).
The Rights group alleged that the Cross Rivers state governor
has even escalated the political witch hunt against the APC governorship
candidate by charging him to Cross Rivers state High Court in a suit with
number HC/48C/2019 in Calabar alleging that he has a case to answer in the
death of the two PDP members even as the state government is silent on the
killings of the three members of the All Progressives Congress. It noted that
nobody was charged for the murder of the three APC members.
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