SEPTEMBER 28 , 2022 | EASTERN PILOT Report By: Babalola Dawodu | (Special Investigative Report By Intersociety Team For Int’l College Of Dem...
SEPTEMBER 28 , 2022 | EASTERN PILOT
Report By: Babalola Dawodu |
(Special Investigative Report By Intersociety Team For Int’l College Of Democracy And Human Rights Scholars, Enugu)
Identity Of Intersociety
International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) is Nigeria’s leading and respected research and investigative democracy, human rights, rule of law and public security and safety advocacy organization since July 2008. Intersociety is headquartered in Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria and incorporated in 2008 under the Part C of Nigeria’s Companies and Allied Matters Act of 2004. It is led by activist experts including criminologists, lawyers, peace and conflict resolution and security studies’ experts, journalists and others.
Intersociety is well known and respected locally and globally for its research and investigation on democracy and human rights related issues, among others. It carries out its research and investigation through expert volunteers; and documents, publishes and issues reports or statements periodically including on weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis. In the subject matter under reference, Intersociety has been strongly advocating for credible electoral process in Nigeria or any part thereof including popular inclusion and participation and mass enfranchisement of citizens of voting age regardless of their class, gender, ethnicity and religion. These, Intersociety has been championing since 2010; a period of over 12 years.
Introduction
This Special Investigative Report was carried out by Intersociety for the International College of Democracy and Human Rights Scholars in Enugu, Nigeria. The Inter-College for Democracy and Human Rights is a recently formed intellectual pressure group involving 132 expert activists including a respected Swiss and an American int’l Democracy and Human Rights Campaigners, 41 Professors, 20 Doctorate Degree Holders, 30 Lawyers, 19 Religious Leaders, 14 key Eastern Nigerian CSO Leaders, Criminologists, Security Experts, and other specialist activists. The Special Investigative Report is a facts laden exposure, exposing no fewer than 50 poll rigging plots by Nigeria’s ‘Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’ ahead of the all-important 25th Feb 2023 Presidential Election in the country.
The exposed rigging plots had included different segregating technicalities employed by the Commission leading to massive disenfranchisement of no fewer than 77.4m citizens comprising registered and unregistered voters and 15.4 million new voters’ registrations destroyed by INEC. Others are more than 20m denied Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) since 2019 after having been registered; 12m recently registered voters yet to be issued with PVCs and no fewer than 30m citizens of voting age never registered by INEC especially during the 2021/2022 CVR exercise.
Most of these tens of millions of Nigerian citizens of voting age were also found to have been massively disenfranchised by the electoral Body on the grounds of their religion and ethnicity. The mass disenfranchisement of 45.4m of the 77.4m had taken place during the country’s Continuous Voters’ Registration (CVR) conducted between 28th June 2021 and 31st July 2022. The saddest part of it all was that out of the 50 poll rigging plots, 27 have been successfully executed during the CVR and 23 others lined up for execution between Sept 2022 and the Presidential Election Day of 25th Feb 2023. The Special Investigative Report was therefore conducted bearing in mind the fact that “the Gateway into election rigging anywhere in the world particularly in Nigeria is massive disenfranchisement of citizens of voting age especially during voters’ registration and revalidation exercises and massively denying them Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) during distribution and issuance of PVCs”.
Cardinal Objective Of This Special Investigative Report
The cardinal objective of this Special Investigative Report is to ensure that Nigeria holds crisis or turbulence free and participatory, inclusive, pluralistic and credible General Elections especially the Presidential Poll in 2023. Such Elections cannot take place without maximum enfranchisement through voters’ registration and issuance of Permanent Voters’ Cards, of citizens of voting age without discrimination as to their religion, ethnicity and class. It must be noted here that Intersociety has nothing against Muslims in the North or South but seriously frowns at them being given undue advantage over others-despite the heterogeneous ethno-religious composition of the country.
Nigeria is also going to perform a major transfer of power to next sets of leaders at national and sub-national levels on 29th May 2023 and as a result, requires popular and credible General Elections to heal its protracted wounds fueled by deep-seated ethnic and religious divisions and protracted violence against persons and properties orchestrated by murderous state actors and non state actors following long years of bad leaders and leaderships in power. In other countries that embrace credible democratic process and rule of law, their inclusive and popular polls are powered by maximum enfranchisement of citizens of voting age and their protection to freely and safely vote candidates of their voice. This is contrary to poll rigging powered by massive disenfranchisement, segregation, discrimination and political exclusion of the citizens on the grounds of their religion and ethnicity.
Nigeria’s INEC in the instant case (2023 democratic process) had been forensically followed and found to have fumbled and wobbled alarmingly; to the extent of earning notoriety in the playing of ethnic and religious cards or promotion of ethno-religious divisions as a policy direction. Intersociety had also carefully followed and monitored INEC especially since the commencement of 2021/2022 CVRand this is in line with our belief that it is a moral disservice to the citizenry for key Democracy and Rights CSOs to sit by and do nothing especially during CVR and PVC distribution exercises only to wake up on Election Day to “monitor polls that have already been massively rigged” through the use or application of different segregating, exclusionist and disenfranchisement patterns including discriminatory voters’ registration and distribution of PVCs and digital or scientific rigging. Intersociety therefore sees totality of the above as capable, if unaddressed, of forcing the 2023 revolutionary presidential race from ballot revolution into calamitous street revolution-with capacity of plunging the country in flames.
The contrary can only be the case if Nigeria’s INEC is timely compelled to do that which is democratically just and upright. Finally, it must be clearly pointed out that this Special Investigative Report does not require stress of proof as most of the contents therein are self evident, requiring no further proofs or explanations. This is more so when 95% of the data used in compilation of this Special Investigative Report are official data released by INEC. Intersociety has since May 2021 carefully and meticulously been compiling and documenting relevant INEC’s publications and pronouncements regarding the Commission’s preparations towards the 2023 General Elections. INEC’s National Headquarters was also duly written trice including on 14th July and 10th August 2022 by the Enugu base Int’l College of Democracy and Human Rights Scholars which Intersociety is its coordinating partner, but the Commission chose not to respond till date.
Nigerian Constitution And Treaty Laws Provide For Citizens’ Enfranchisement And Voting
Several provisions abound in Nigeria’s Constitution of 1999 and regional and international instruments acceded to by the country including the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (ratified and domesticated in 1983) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified in 1993) providing and ensuring that all citizens of voting age irrespective of tribe, gender, class and religion; wishing to be registered, are registered as eligible voters by INEC, issued with PVCs and protected to conscientiously vote for candidates of their choice especially during the all-important 25th Feb 2023 Presidential Election. Legal provisions are also mandatorily made for citizens of voting age in Nigeria with requisite qualifications and capacities to be protected and voted for. It must be boldly stated that it is the fundamental human right of all citizens of voting age to undeniably be allowed and protected to participate in electoral or political process regardless of their tribe, religion, gender and class. Wide spread or mass disenfranchisement of citizens of voting age by INEC and its co-travelers using different technical hitches widely highlighted in this Special Investigative Report has become a recurring decimal in the country’s electoral process since 2015 and remained a serious threat to independence and credibility of the Commission especially ahead of the 25th Feb 2023 Presidential Election.
Specific Local And International Legal Provisions Supporting Enfranchisement And Voting
By Sections 38, 39, 40 and 41 of the Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended), rights to freedom of thought and conscience; freedom of expression including freedom to hold independent political opinions; freedom of Assembly and Association; and right to freely move and reside in any part of the country are legally guaranteed. By Section 42 of the same Constitution, freedom from discrimination on the grounds of gender, class, tribe and religion is also guaranteed. By Section 46 of the Constitution of the FRN 1999, the above highlighted ‘Fundamental Human Rights Provisions’ are ‘justiciable’ and approachable before any High Court of Justice in Nigeria by any citizen or group. Beyond seeking Court remedies, violation of those provisions can force the revolutionary citizens into violent self help including uprising or street revolution.
At regional and international levels, Articles 2, 8, 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights of 1981, under the African Union, guaranteed right to freedom from discrimination and rights to freedom of conscience, Association, Assembly and movement and right to participate in National Government; while Articles 18 and 19 of the Int’l Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1976 guaranteed rights to conscience and independent political opinions as well as its Articles 21, 22, 24 and 25 which provided for rights to freedom of Assembly and Association and freedom from discrimination and right to political participation without discrimination as to ethnicity, religion, class and gender.
Powers And Functions Of INEC In The Eyes Of The Law
The Independent National Electoral Commission is a creation of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 as amended. This is by virtue of Section 153 (f) of the Constitution, which is further fortified by Section 14 (1`) of Part 1 of the Third Schedule of the Constitution, prescribing its functions in its Section 15 to include: ‘organize, undertake and supervise all elections involving presidency, governorship and state and federal legislatures’ and ‘arrange and conduct the registration of persons qualified to vote and prepare, maintain and revise the register of voters for the purpose of any election under this Constitution’. INEC was formatively created by the INEC Establishment Act of 2004, and by Section 2 (3) of the Act, ‘the Chairman and members of the Commission shall be persons of unquestionable integrity’. INEC is also recognized by Section 2 of the Electoral Act of 2010 (presently cited as the Electoral Act of 2022 as amended) and by Section 9 of the Electoral Act, in its Part 3, the Commission is empowered and mandated to ‘compile, maintain and update, on continuous basis, a National Register of Voters’.
These include registration of new voters (in accordance with the citizens’ constitutional rights to political participation including voting and vying for elective offices; and freedom of association, assembly, expression and conscience and freedom from discrimination); updating of the registered voters and transfer of their PVCs to new areas of their residence (in accordance with the citizens’ rights to freedom of movement and residency); and issuance of PVCs after being captured as registered voters for purpose of the citizens’ participation in any election (.i.e. 25th Feb 2023 Presidential Election). Also by Section 12 of the 2022 Electoral Act, as amended, “a person shall be qualified as a voter if such a person is: (a) a citizen of Nigeria, (b) has attained the age of 18 years and (c) is ordinarily a resident, works in, originates from the Local Government, Area Council or Ward covered by the registration center”.
120 Million Citizens Of Voting Age Exist In Nigeria
According to the current United Nations population statistics including the Worldometer (world’s live statistics on population, economy and so on), Nigeria’s estimated population as at Monday 26th Sept 2022 is 217.5m, out of which 55% or more than 120m represent those in 18 years and above or citizens of voting age. By INEC’s recent official statistics tracked in several print and online media, “the total registered voters in the country as at Feb 2019 was 84m and 96m as at 31st July 2022”. INEC also announced that “12m citizens were registered as voters between 28th June 2021 and 31st July 2022 and more than 20m Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) had not been given to their owners since 2019 or before the commencement of 2021/2022 CVR on 28th June 2021”; out of which, it has been independently estimated that many belong to Southern and Northern Christians.
Breached Laws And Other Illegalities Of INEC
Going by Intersociety’s Findingsback in June (2022), desperate moves were strongly made under INEC resulting in capturing millions of under-age persons and illegal aliens as “registered voters in Nigeria” (contrary to Section 12 of the 2022 Electoral Act as amended) for them to vote in the 2023 Presidential Election. Pieces of pictorial and video evidence also dotted social and mainstream media exposing registration of minors in far North including Yobe and other Muslim States. These illegalities as part of INEC’s desperation, have culminated in flooding the National Register of Voters with estimated 15m illegal aliens, under-age persons and fictitious or ghost names.
The Commission was also strongly believed to have been very uncomfortable with a surge in voters’ registration especially by non Muslim citizens between May and July 2022. This was against the backdrop of INEC’s announcement of ‘the successful registration of 6.2m citizens of voting age as at end of May 2022; out of which, 4.5m where youths were captured-with majority of them registered through INEC’s online registration portal. The Commission also ensured that the surge in the 2022 CVR from the South and other Christian areas did not place them ahead of Muslim States and further ensured that densely populated Southeast Region remained at the bottom with least number of registered voters while northern States like Borno, a very unsafe and insurgency stricken State continued to record geometric increase in the number of new registrants far much above many Southern States.
A respected former Nigerian envoy with over thirty years in regional and international diplomacy had back in June 2022 shared intelligence with Intersociety, informing that under the watch of INEC, “over 21 registration centers were created and run by the Commission during the 2022 CVR exercise in Southern Niger Republic, capturing nomads and other allied Muslims from different areas of black Africa and Sahel as registered voters to vote in Nigeria’s 25th Feb 2023 Presidential Election”. The respected former envoy also informed that “N50, 000 or its equivalent in CFA Franc was offered to each registrant” by agents of the country’s two leading political parties, perpetrated in collusion with INEC. It was as a result of the above that INEC was written to publicly speak on the weighty allegation on 14th July 2022 by the International College of Democracy and Human Rights Scholars, Enugu, which Intersociety is an integral part of.
Sadly and shockingly, the Commission received the letter and refused to speak till date. Fears also abound that the aforementioned illegalities of INEC were likely to have been replicated in Nigerian-Chadian and Nigerian-Northern Cameroonian border areas during the 2022 CVR. Added to the above was a recent documentary that widely trended on social media strongly alleging ‘evil plots’ by present federal authorities in Nigeria and their ruling party and selected agencies and parastatals of the Government, in collusion with INEC, to massively and scientifically manipulate the 25th Feb 2023 Presidential Election; to be executed with whopping N6.5trillion or $11b which is to be sourced through illegitimate means by some national and sub-national public office agencies including governors of the States controlled by the federal ruling party (APC). The widely social media trended documentary was tagged: “2023 Presidential Election Evil Plans of APC”. The above serious allegation was included for response or reaction in our joint letter of 14th July 2022 to INEC and till today, the Commission has refused to speak publicly on it.
30m Citizens Of Voting Age Never Registered In 2021/2022 CVR
From several investigations carried out by Intersociety, while no fewer than 15m of the 96m roguishly registered voters in the country are illegitimately and unlawfully registered by INEC as “voters” including independently estimated 10m illegal aliens and under-age children and 5m registered fictitious or ghost names recently exposed by CUPP; there are independently estimated 30m citizens of voting age never captured or registered by INEC during the 2021/2022 Continuous Voters’ Registration (CVR) exercise. The number had involved persons of voting age that have never been captured as registered voters since their birth and attainment of 18 years and above as stipulated in Section 12 of the 2022 Electoral Act as amended. The no fewer than 30m independently estimated unregistered citizens of voting age did not include 15.4m recent registrations destroyed by INEC including 11m successful online registrants that were destroyed by the Commission due to the Commission’s failure to capture their physical biometrics at designated registration centers across the country after they have successfully registered online.
Regional Breakdown Of Estimated 30m Unregistered Voters In Nigeria
Out of the 30m unregistered citizens of voting age, South-East is the worst hit with estimated 7m, followed by South-West with 6m (including estimated 2m Igbo citizens of voting age), South-South 5m (including estimated 2m Igbo citizens of voting age), North-Central 5m (mostly Christians), North-East 3.5m (mainly Christians of Adamawa, Taraba, Borno, Bauchi, Gombe and Yobe); and North-West 2.5m (mainly Christians and non natives). Igbo Ethnic Nationality, with more than 60m of the country’s 217.5m population, according to UN estimates of 26th Sept 2022, is home to estimated 30m citizens of voting age or 50% of its total within-the-country population (excluding Igbo population in Diaspora); out of which, 23m are found in South-East and South-South and 7m others located outside the two Regions with Lagos/Ogun, Kano and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) topping the list.
INEC Deliberately Destroyed 15.4m New Registrations During 2021/2022 CVR
Total of 15.4m new registrations involving citizens of voting age were deliberately destroyed by INEC during CVR held between 28th June 2021 and 31st July 2022. They had included 7m-11m successful online registrants shut out and massively disenfranchised by the Commission over its failure to capture their physical biometrics at designated registration centers across the country before the closure of the CVR exercise on 31st July 2022. Others affected by the massive destruction included 1.12m destroyed by INEC between 28th June 2021 and 12th Jan 2022; 1.85m destroyed by the Commission between 1st Jan and 28th June 2022; and 1.1m destroyed by same INEC in Jan 2022 alone. These are according to INEC’s publicly released official statistics severally published by the media.
32m Registered Voters Still Denied PVCs In Nigeria
Total of 32m registered voters are still denied PVCs by INEC and as it stands today, they are ineligible to participate and vote in any election in Nigeria or any part thereof; whether bye-election, legislative, governorship, local government or presidential. By INEC’s official records evaluated by Intersociety, there are no fewer than 32m affected citizens or those denied PVCs till date and they include 20m registered voters denied PVCs since 2019 or before commencement of the 2021/2022 CVR exercise and 12m newly registered voters, captured by INEC between 28th June 2021 and 31st July 2022 and yet to be issued with PVCs. It is further strongly suspected that many of them belong to citizens of Christian Faith and non Muslim others. With INEC’s unchecked discriminatory policy, gross incompetence and nonchalant attitudes, it is strongly estimated that not more than 20% or 6.4m of the 32m registered voters presently without PVCs will be issued PVCs in the end or between Sept and Dec 2022.
50.4m Of The 96m Roguishly Registered Voters May End Up As Truly Nigerian PVC Holders
Going by Intersociety’s forensic evaluation of INEC’s published statistics and their comparison with the realities on the ground; total number of citizens that will end up as ‘legitimate or truly Nigerians with PVCs’ is estimated at 50.4m registered voters. In other words, it is statistically and analytically correct to say that out of the ‘96m roguishly registered voters’, claimed by INEC to exist in the country’s National Register of Voters, only 50.4m will end up between Sept and Dec 2022 as truly Nigerians with PVCs. Apart from massive denial of PVCs to over 32m others, there are interlopers (illegal aliens and under-age children) estimated at 10m who are being paraded by INEC and polluting the country’s National Register of Voters as “registered voters with PVCs in Nigeria”. There are also estimated 5m fictitious or ghost names captured by INEC as “registered voters in Nigeria”.
The millions of fake names cutting across 22 States, according to the leadership of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), were sourced and smuggled into the Voters’ Register by INEC from photographs, calendars, brochures, burial posters and portraits obtained from within and outside the country including Ghana, Cameroon, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Togo, Guinea, Gambia and beyond Africa countries of Jamaica, Brazil, New Zealand, etc. Because the 5m fake ghost names (CUPP says 10m) do not exist in person, they do not require issuance of PVCs but will be unlawfully uploaded on Election Day on INEC’s central server as “pre-accredited voters” and “validly cast votes”. Aside the busted 5m fake or ghost names, there are millions of secretly obtained and stolen PVCs in the hands of criminal INEC officials and colluded political actors, for purpose of digital rigging of the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll.
20m (40%) Of the 50.4m Truly Nigerian PVC Holders May Vote In 2023 Presidential Poll
From the realities on the ground following this forensic investigation by Intersociety, apart from 50 busted rigging plots hatched by INEC leading to disenfranchisement of 77.4m Nigerian citizens of voting age, only 50.4m may most likely emerge in the end as truly Nigerian PVC holders and be eligible to vote in the 2023 Presidential Poll; out of which, only 20m may be allowed to vote under security charged atmosphere in the country’s 176,000 plus polling units and 8,809 electoral wards. The 50.4m expected truly Nigerian PVC recipients will include 44m issued PVCs as at 2019 and 6.4m projected to receive PVCs between Sept and Dec 2022. The number did not include illegal aliens and persons of under-age and ghost names flooding the Nigeria’s National Register of Voters numbering about 15m.
In other words, out of the 50.4m truly Nigerian voters with PVCs, about 40% or 20m voter participants are expected to participate and vote. This will further do a devastating blow to political participation and the fundamental right of the citizens to freely and popularly choose their democratic leaders without discrimination as to their tribe or ethnicity, religion and class. Intersociety is deeply worried over the likelihood of disproportionate representation and division of the expected 20m participant voters along ethnic and religious lines-which appears to be the cardinal aim of INEC to destroy substantial part of the 2021/2022 CVR so as to provide chances to install its favored candidate(s) on the grounds of ethnicity and religion in the Presidential Poll.
77.4m Disenfranchised: 45m Denied Registration And 32m Registered Voters Denied PVCs
The grand summary of the illegalities of INEC ahead of Nigeria’s 2023 General Elections especially the Presidential Poll scheduled for 25th Feb 2023 is that a total of 77.4m citizens of voting age have been disenfranchised and unlawfully excluded from participating and voting in the 2023 General Elections especially the Presidential Poll. This is as it stands today. Out of this shocking number, at least 45.4m; believed to be mainly non Muslims were denied registration including 30m unregistered citizens never registered as voters in Nigeria and 15.4m new registrants whose registrations were deliberately destroyed by INEC. There are also no fewer than 20m registered voters denied PVCs since 2019 or before the commencement of the 2021/2022 Continuous Voters’ Registration (CVR) on 28th June 2021 as well as 12m newly registered voters captured between 28th June 2021 and 31st July 2022 who are yet to receive their PVCs.
Voters’ Register Flooded With 15m Illegal Aliens, Persons Of Under-Age And Fake Names
Shockingly and unbelievably, while 77.4m truly Nigerian citizens of voting age have been disenfranchised and most of them unlawfully excluded from participating and voting in the 2023 General Elections especially the Presidential Poll, no fewer than 15m illegal registrants and ghost names including estimated 10m illegal aliens and persons of under-age or minors as well as estimated 5m fictitious or ghost names have been smuggled by INEC into the country’s National Register of Voters as “registered voters with ghost or invisible PVCs” and readied and legitimized to participate and vote in the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll. It is the finding of Intersociety that the registration of Muslim minors and illegal aliens had found its way into the National Register of Voters in 2014/2014 under Prof Attahiru Jega (2010-2015) as INEC Chairman and continued and consolidated in 2018/2019 and 2021/2022 under Prof Mahmood Yakubu (since 21st Oct 2015) as INEC Chairman. The criminal practice of flooding and polluting the National Register of Voters with fictitious and ghost names in their millions as “registered voters in Nigeria” was first witnessed in 2006-2009 under Prof Maurice Iwu (2005-2010) as INEC Chairman and it has staged a fierce come back fifteen years after in 2021/2022 under Prof Mahmood Yakubu as current Chairman of INEC.
Expect 20m Genuine PVC Votes And 10m Alien, Under-Age And Ghost Votes In Feb 2023
From the look of things including realities on the ground, INEC may most likely end up declaring a total of 30m votes as the “total valid votes cast” from the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Election in Nigeria. Out of this number, only 20m may most likely represent votes genuinely derived from truly Nigerian PVC holders. On the other hand, whopping 10m fake votes from enfranchised illegal aliens, under-age persons and ghost names may most likely form part of “the total valid votes cast”. The projections above are going by evaluation of the Nigeria’s Presidential Election results of 2015 and 2019 and their sources; according to findings made by Intersociety. For instance, out of total registered voters of 68.8m in the country, only 28,587,921 citizens voted in the Presidential Poll of March 2015; out of which Retired Major Gen Muhammad Buhari of APC scored 15,424,921 and Dr Goodluck Jonathan of PDP scored 12,853,162.
In the 2019 Presidential Poll, out of total registered voters of 84m, only 28,614,190 or 35% voted, out of which Buhari of APC scored 15,191,847 and Atiku Abubakar of PDP scored 11,262,978. The votes scored by the winner of the two presidential polls were also found to have been fraught with millions of ‘dead’ votes. Therefore, with approximately 35% across board voting capacity of the two polls, the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll is expected to generate 20m genuine voter turnout and 10m fictitious additions (if unchecked). The genuine voter turnout would have doubled or tripled had INEC dutifully and genuinely captured most of the 77.4m genuine citizens of voting age disenfranchised by way of their exclusion in voter registration, destruction of over 15m new registrants and denial of PVCs to over 32m that registered.
10.2m Of The 15.4m Votes Scored By Buhari In 2015 Came From Manual Voters In 10 States
Total of 10,184,720 out of 15,424,921 votes credited to Retired Major Gen Muhammad Buhari of APC by INEC in the March 2015 Presidential Election had been found to have come from manual voting in 10 Northern States of Kano (1.35m manual votes), Katsina (1.05m manual votes), Kaduna (800.112 manual votes), Jigawa (744,112 manual votes), Bauchi (627,048 manual votes), Sokoto (588,730 manual votes), Zamfara (578,730 manual votes), Kebbi (496,565 manual votes), Niger (492,870 manual votes) and Plateau (482,788 manual votes). The 10,184,720 manual votes credited to Retired Major Gen Muhammad Buhari (as he then was) by INEC was out of 13,536,311 manual votes discovered in ten Northern States including Christian dominant State of Plateau, out of which, only 3,351,591 was credited to Dr Goodluck Jonathan of PDP. In other words, only 5.2m votes scored by Buhari and his party came from biometric accreditation and voting through INEC Smart Card Reader device or technology.
For instance, the 1,35m manual votes credited to Buhari and his APC in Kano State was out of total of 1,903,000 vote scores comprising 1,35m manual votes and 553,000 votes derived from biometric accreditation using INEC Smart Card Reader. In Kastina State, the 1.05m manual votes credited to Buhari and his APC was out of total of 1,35m votes comprising 350,000 votes from biometric accreditation using INEC Smart Card Reader and 1.05m votes from unlawful manual voting. Retired Major Gen Muhammad Buhari of APC had in the March 2015 Presidential Election scored, according to INEC, 15,191,847 votes to beat Dr Goodluck Jonathan of PDP who scored 12,833,162. The above data and its analysis was disclosed by DeepDive Intelligence and published by the Cable on Dec 8, 2018. The sources also quoted INEC’s official statistics as their sources, adding that the manual voting in the 10 Northern States was done by bypassing biometric accreditation using INEC Smart Card Reader (now replaced with BVAS/IReV machines).
It must be remembered that the INEC Smart Card Reader was legalized and introduced into Nigeria’s electoral process and first used in the General Elections of 2015. The Cable and the DeepDive Intelligence had expertly informed that “INEC Smart Card Reader is a portable electronic voting authentication device configured to read only the PVCs issued by INEC and designed for accreditation process including authentication of eligible voters before voting”. The two sources also noted that “when a voter’s fingerprint is not identified by INEC’s Smart Card Reader (now BVAS/IReV devices), it means one of the three below: (a) that the voter is not a human being, (b) that the voter is not the authentic owner of the PVC he/she is presenting or (c) there is a calibration error with INEC’s PVC system.
Repeated In 2019 And Programmed For Widespread Repeat In 2023 Presidential Poll
It was further found that the 10,184,720 unlawful manual votes credited to Buhari and his APC in the 2015 Presidential Poll in ten mostly Muslim States had included combination of millions of unlawful manual votes from unregistered, alien and under-age voters and possibly ghost names. This was repeated widely across the affected States and other Muslim Northern States in 2019 Presidential Poll and is most likely to have been programmed for widespread repeat in the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Election in at least 22 mostly APC controlled States including Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Jigawa, Bauchi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa and Gombe. The criminal and illegal practice by INEC had been notoriously the case in the named ten mostly Northern Muslim States and rest of others controlled by Muslims and APC as against strict application in the South of INEC Smart Card Reader (now IReV and BVAS) as well as other bureaucratic hitches leading to massive disenfranchisement of tens of millions of mainly Christian PVC holders on flimsy and technical grounds.
How INEC Registered Minors As “Voters In Nigeria” And Compromised Electronic Voting
Having followed, monitored and investigated several electoral processes in Nigeria or any part thereof since 2010 including voters’ registration, revalidation and issuance and distribution of PVCs and Election Day accreditation and voting, Intersociety had made several findings exposing how INEC, desperate political actors and radical religious and ward leaders especially in Muslim held areas of Northern Nigeria severally registered millions of minors or persons of under-age and illegal aliens over the years especially in 2014/2015, 2018/2019 and 2021/2022 as “registered voters with PVCs in Nigeria” and have their names included and validated in the country’s National Register of Voters. These, INEC continuously perpetrated in gross breach of Section 12 of Nigeria’s Electoral Act of 2010 (amended in 2022) which prohibits registration of minors, aliens or non nationals and non humans or ghost names as ‘registered voters in Nigeria’.
To protect the illegal and criminal exercise, registration centers’ environments especially in Muslim held areas of the North were made hostile and life-threatening for deployed INEC ad hoc staffers and their supervising substantive personnel. There were also indiscriminate use of language barriers and whipping up of religious sentiments and mobilization of Muslim youths and fanatics and readying them at slightest or no provocation or argument to spill bloods including unleashing mayhem on deployed INEC ad hoc staffers especially those who are of non Muslim backgrounds. Totality of these had given room to widespread registration of Muslim minors and aliens as “voters in Nigeria” during which minors as tender as seven to nine years and above but not exceeding 16 years had been captured and registered in their millions in Muslim States as “registered voters”. This is also to the extent that minors in the seven-eight years age bracket captured by INEC as “registered voters” in 2014/2015 are still not statutorily qualified to vote in Nigeria in 2023 having not attained 18 years of voting age; in addition to those registered in 2018/2019. In other words, there are still millions of minors registered since 2014/2015 and 2018/2019 polluting Nigeria’s National Register of Voters.
These have also been the case on Election Day in the country leading to widespread abandonment of use of electronic devices and reversion to manual voting and authentication of same by INEC; protected using group violence or threat of same by Muslim fanatics and compromised security forces. The chief motive of INEC in this criminal exercise is to fictitiously increase voting population and numerical strength of Muslim held areas against their non Muslim counterparts for purpose of rigging in its favored presidential candidate and rigging out the popular one accepted by majority of Nigerians and voters.
Ethno-Religious Voters’ Accreditation/Voting By INEC During Presidential Election
Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has earned notoriety in double standards and policies since 2015 which became more exposed in the Feb 2019 Presidential Election. The saddest part of it all is that the discriminatory practices of the Commission are dotted with ethnic and religious coloration and have seriously affected the Commission’s deployment and use of voters’ accreditation/capturing and voting machines; presently called “Voters’ Enrolment Device (IReV)” and “Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS)”. Apart from their discriminatory deployment and use with strict enforcement in the Christian held areas of the North and the South and their loose enforcement in non Christian held areas, there are also strong suspicions that they are technically manipulated on religious and ethnic grounds. As a matter of field investigation and fact, they are strongly alleged to have been designed for massive failure in Christian areas leading to Election Day technical disenfranchisement of millions of Christian voters at voting units.
It is further strongly alleged that their deployment and use are mandatorily enforced to the letter in the South especially South-East, South-South and non natives’ held South-West areas as well as Northern Christian areas; whereas contrary is the case in Muslim held areas especially in the North. In other words, once there is any failure of voters’ accreditation and voting machines in Muslim areas, it is most likely to be promptly substituted with manual accreditation and voting protected using religious fanatics and compromised security forces. These have been the case during two recent past presidential polls of 2015 and 2019 in the Northern Muslim held areas including Kano, Katsina, Borno, Yobe, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Bauchi, Jigawa, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Kogi, and Gombe States as well as Christian held Plateau State (in 2015).
One Voter Registered In South-East Out of Every Five And Four In The North Out Of Five
It has been found from our different field checks across the country’s six geopolitical regions of Nigeria during the 2021/2022 Continuous Voters’ Registration that “in the Southeast, out of every five citizens of voting age seeking to be registered as voters at INEC’s registration center, only one person was registered; in the South-South, out of every five, only two were captured; in the South-West, out of every five in the native held areas, at least three were captured and in its non natives’ held areas (i.e. Igbo populated areas), out of every five, one was captured. In the native Muslim held areas of the North; out of every five, four were captured; in the non Muslim natives’ held areas, out of every five, two were captured; and in the non native/non Muslim held areas of the North including the FCT, out of every five, one was captured or registered.
From random interviews conducted by Intersociety in several quarters especially in South-East and some non native quarters of the North and the South-West, it was found that millions of citizens of voting age seeking to be registered became frustrated and went back home after visiting registration centers several times and frustrated by discrimination and other bureaucratic hitches created by INEC including inadequacy of registration personnel and machines and extortion. Millions of others who visited INEC’s registration centers several times for updating or transfer or revalidation of their voters’ cards also left with disappointment and resolved to stay back home never to go back again.
In PVC Distributions Gone By, It Was 90% For Muslims And 50% For Non Muslims
Discrimination in voters’ registration and allied others and distribution and issuance of PVCs has been investigated and found to have been introduced in Nigeria with widespread effects in 2014/2015 under Prof Attahiru Jega as INEC Chairman and this has continued and gotten worse under Prof Mahmood Yakubu as current INEC Chairman. The discriminatory practice was done and is still being done on the grounds of ethnicity and religion. This is to the extent that in the past eight years or since 2014, members of Northern Muslim population including the aged and the physically challenged and persons of under-age as well as illegal aliens sharing same language and culture (i.e. Hausa/Arabic and Islamic culture) have been favored in voters’ registration and PVC distribution far ahead of their non Muslim counterparts. The disparity in voters’ registration and PVC distribution presently hovers around 90% (for Muslims) and 50% (for non Muslim) ratios. Members of the Northern Muslim population have become the highest recipients of PVCs distributed by INEC through proxy distribution or use of religious, district and family heads; as against rigid and stressful PVC distribution methods applied by the Commission in the South and Northern Christian areas.
The rigid PVC distribution and collection methods applied by INEC and enforced majorly in the South-South and the South-East include armchair bureaucracy, physical presence collection, inadequate staffing, PVC unavailability and extortion, etc. This pattern of PVC distribution and collection is also made difficult by restricting same to INEC Local Government offices only. Bashings and outcries received by INEC recently forced it to “promise to engage in next batch of PVC distribution through multiple options including use of text messages and phone calls to PVC owners”. Critics have doubted the sincerity of the Commission to the above promise.
How INEC Discriminatorily Destroyed 15.4m Of The 27.4m New Voters’ Registrations
According to findings made by Intersociety after its careful study of INEC’s officially released statistics including its updates on 2022 CVR, INEC was found to have deliberately, mindlessly, hatefully and discriminatorily engaged in massive disenfranchisement of tens of millions of enthusiastic Nigerians that trouped to INEC registration centers to be registered ahead of the 2023 Presidential Election. The destruction was also found to have been perpetrated on the grounds of ethnicity and religion. It was further discovered that the destroyed figure did not include those that logged unto INEC’s online voters’ registration portal but could not continue or conclude their registrations. For instance, between January 2022 and 2nd June 2022 according to INEC’s official statistics, 19.1m applicants were received by the Commission, out of which only 6.8m were ‘successfully registered as voters’. INEC had earlier panicked and shut down its online voters’ registration portal on 31st May 2022 and never opened it till 31st July 2022 when it ended the CVR Exercise.
Strange reasons given by the Commission for such deliberate massive disenfranchisement had included “incomplete registration”, “multiple registrations” and “timed-out physical biometric capturing”. INEC also hurriedly and unlawfully terminated the CVR on 31st July 2022 or seven months before the Feb and March 2023 General Elections, contrary to the statutorily provided 90 days deadline. By this dastardly act of the Commission, tens of millions of citizens of voting age have been disenfranchised and excluded from participating and voting in the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Election including 7m-11m that completed their online voters’ registration by 90%, remaining only physical biometric capturing, who were shut out and disenfranchsed by the Commission. Therefore, what the sum total of the above means is that while tens of millions of Nigerian citizens of voting age worked hard under the rain and the sun and got registered by INEC, the Commission turned around and mindlessly engaged in destruction of their registrations, to the tune of 15.4m. The Commission also threatened to disenfranchise millions more in the ongoing “voters’ register cleanup”.
INEC’s Reports Concerning The Above
INEC had on Monday night of 12th Sept 2022 announced that “it had delisted from its central server a total of 1.126, 359 (roughly 48%) out of 2,523, 458 fresh registrants that registered between June 28, 2021 and January 14, 2022 for their involvement in multiple registrations”. In other words, out of over 2.5m new registrations recorded in less than seven months of 28th June 2021 and 14th January 2022, more than 1.12m or 48% were disenfranchised and delisted from INEC’s central server. Till date, no concrete reasons including remote and immediate cause(s) had been given by the Commission as to why such massive disenfranchisement occurred. It must be added that INEC’s statement on this was issued by its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye Esquire. In January 2022 alone, according to media reports, “1.1m fresh registrants were invalidated and disenfranchised”. Between 1st Feb and 28th June 2022, according to This Day Newspaper of 28th June 2022, quoting official statistics of INEC, “only 8,631,696 of the 10,487,972 newly registered voters were successfully registered and 1,856, 276 invalidated and disenfranchised”.
According to INEC statement of 1st August 2022, “7,043,594 newly registered voters who successfully completed their online pre-registration were invalidated (disenfranchised) on account of their failure to have their physical biometrics captured by INEC before CVR deadline of 31st July 2022” and the statement added that “out of 10,487, 972 successful online CVR registrants, only 3,444,378 were successfully captured in physical biometrics capturing and enfranchised”. Further findings made by the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room, a network of 80 CSOs, as reported by Punch Newspaper of 3rd August 2022, indicated that “11million citizens who completed their INEC online registration forms were shut out by the Commission from being captured biometrically and massively disenfranchised”. The Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room had spoken through Ene Obi and appeals made to the Commission to capture and enfranchise them fell on deaf ears till date.
Class Suit Against INEC By Over 7m Disenfranchised New Registrants
It is the finding of Intersociety that over 7m new registrants recently disenfranchised by INEC have dragged the Commission before an Abuja Division of the Federal Court, seeking to be allowed to complete their registration by way of physical biometric capturing; and enfranchised and issued with PVCs to enable them vote in the 2023 General Elections especially the Presidential Poll. It will be recalled that INEC had days after its abrupt closure of the 2021/2022 CVR exercise on 31st July 2022 announced the exclusion of over 7m new registrants-the number the Civil Society Election Situation Room (with over 80 CSOs) put at 11m, from the list of newly registered voters which the Commission puts at 12m. The over 7m disenfranchised Nigerian citizens of voting age are those that successfully registered as voters through INEC’s dedicated online registration portal, remaining to be physically captured biometrically, but were disenfranchised and excluded by the Commission from participation and voting in the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll over “incomplete registrations”. Their disenfranchisement was announced by the Commission on 2nd August 2022 or 90 days ahead before the statutory 90 days deadline for voters’ registration and despite public outcries and appeals for them to be fully captured and enfranchised, the Commission remained adamant and defiant till date.
In a Class/Representative suit filed by 24 of the over 7m disenfranchised citizens of voting age on behalf of over 7m others, the Plaintiffs sought an order of mandamus “directing and compelling INEC to reactivate its Continuous Voters’ Registration exercise to allow them complete their registration and collect their PVCs”. The suit: FHC/ABJ/CS/1662/2022 was filed on Friday, 16th Sept 2022 by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). The 24 suing Plaintiffs have involved Citizens Adedotun Babatunde, Emmanuel Tochukwu, Emmanuel Ternajev, Joy Ige, Lawrence Ignatius, Agbede Kunle, Eze Ndubusi, Nkemdilim Bassey, Omoike Oseine, Joshua Ogenekaro, Wisdom Emeka, Ukpe Destiny, Abayomi Opeoluwa, Ndubuisi Ananihu, Akande Akintunde O and Adamma Rhodes. According to a Report released by INEC, “out of 10,487,972 Nigerians who carried out their pre-registration online, only 3,444,378 Nigerians representing 32.8%, completed the process at a physical center while 7,043,594 Nigerians did not complete the process at a physical center”.
7m-11m Disenfranchised “Incomplete Registrants” As Another Rigging Plot
While INEC has remorselessly continued to live in denial and recalcitrance, fears are spreading like wildfire strongly indicating that the 7m-11m disenfranchised “incomplete registrants” may most likely become another rigging plot hatched by the Commission. Emerging facts have continued to rubbish INEC’s indefensible defenses over its brazen culpability in disenfranchising tens of millions of truly Nigerian citizens of voting age, presently estimated at 77.4m while turning around to enfranchise at least 15m illegal persons and ghost names including millions of illegal aliens and minors as well as imported non humans numbering millions and registering them as “voters in Nigeria”.
Specifically, strong and informed fears abound indicating that INEC may most likely temper with the 7m-11m “incomplete registrants” by using their photos or data; or both and impersonating them using fake names or photos and adding them to the long list of millions of ghost names recently found to have been smuggled by criminal officials of INEC into the country’s National Register of Voters. A typical case in point was the outcries by scores of the disenfranchised “incomplete registrants” whereby “their passport photographs or data submitted during the online CVR exercise to INEC have recently been located in INEC’s severs outside their registration locations bearing names or photos other than theirs.
Shocking Testimonies Of Miss Adesina Paul Monijesu And Miss Aderoba Joy Temitope
Miss Adesina Paul Monijesu, a 20 years old female undergraduate and Miss Aderoba Joy Temitope (in her early 20s) are “incomplete registrants” who processed their online registrations in Ibadan, Oyo State back in June 2022 and their online registrations were successfully done, remaining physical biometric capturing at physical registration center. Shockingly, their submitted personal data including full names and dates of birth were later assigned by INEC to pictures of unknown males in far away Imo State as “registered male voters in Imo State”. Miss Adesina Paul Monijesu particularly pointed out that she was shocked to see her data submitted to INEC exchanged with an unknown man’s photograph in far away Imo State.
The above discovery was made two days after a Press Conference in Abuja by the leadership of Coalition of the United Political Parties (CUPP) which busted the flooding of the National Register of Voters by INEC with millions of ghost names sourced from burial posters, brochures, photo studios and names from African and non African countries, etc, as “registered voters in Nigeria”. Miss Adesina Paul Monijesu gave her own account when she featured on Njenje Int’l Media Friday Hangout aired on 16th Sept 2022 in London, UK. The two victims (Monijesu and Joy Temitope) had on 16th Sept 2022 filed a petition before the Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, strongly protesting the “Breach of Data Privacy and Attempted Unlawful Exploitation of Personal Details”. The Petition was filed on their behalf by the Law Firm of WABARA and WABARA, based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Three Types Of Massive Disenfranchisement And Dilemma Of Millions Denied PVCs
Thorough checks carried out by Intersociety in the course of this Special Investigative Report have identified three types of massive disenfranchisement that marred INEC’s 2021/2022 CVR and the Commission’s ongoing Voters’ Revalidation Exercise. They are (1) “disenfranchisement by INEC as part of its secret hate policy perpetrated on the grounds of ethnicity and religion”; (2) “disenfranchisement caused by citizens’ deliberate multiple registrations (.i.e. whereby citizens who previously registered before and got PVCs, offered themselves for fresh registrations for malicious or criminal intents)”; and (3) “disenfranchisement caused by citizens’ frustrations as a result of non issuance of PVCs by INEC (.i.e. whereby citizens, denied PVCs since 2019 got frustrated and sought to be freshly registered by INEC, having waited in vain for years without PVCs especially when their PVCs are most likely to have disappeared from INEC custody and destroyed or secretly sold to criminal politicians for digital poll rigging)”.
The percentage representations of the three types of disenfranchisement above are: INEC’s ethnicity/religious discriminatory policy 70%, frustrated voters’ repeat registration 20% and malicious citizens’ multiple registrations 10%. In others words, it is most likely correct to say that 70% of disenfranchisement by INEC during CVR and Voters’ Revalidation Exercise is caused by the Commission’s discriminatory policy on the grounds of ethnicity and religion. Frustrated voters’ repeat registrations take 20% while malicious citizens’ multiple registrations take only 10%. In the whole, INEC is responsible for 90% of citizens’ disenfranchisement in Nigeria or any part thereof during 2021/2022 CVR.
Political Pressure Group Uncovered 10m Ghost Names As “Registered Voters” In 22 States
Nigeria’s Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), a leading opposition registered political parties’ pressure group said it had uncovered fresh flooding of INEC’s National Register of Voters with estimated 10m ghost names as “registered voters” in 22 States with Imo State having the highest number. The fresh discovery of this major rigging plot ahead of the country’s crucial Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll was publicly made known on Wednesday, 14th Sept 2022 in a world press conference held in Abuja by CUPP’s Spokesperson, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere and other officials of the political pressure group. The discovery had followed gathering of credible intelligence by the CUPP’s intelligence team showing 10m fake names as “registered voters” in 22 States mostly controlled by the central ruling political party (APC). The major rigging plot was also found to have been majorly perpetrated by corrupt INEC officials in collusion with desperate ruling party officials or political actors. The rigging plot was perpetrated by INEC and APC officials by lifting and uploading fake names and passport photos of unknown persons from brochures, burial posters, calendars and photo studios and have same flooded in the current National Register of Voters as “current registered voters”. The 10m registered fake voters scattered in 22 States are criminally programmed to be uploaded on Election Day as “pre-accredited voters/validly cast votes”.
Further noted was the fact that the execution of the major rigging plot does not require issuance of PVCs but to have the 10m fake voters or substantial part of them uploaded on INEC’s central server on Election Day and validated by the Commission as ‘validly cast votes’. In Imo State, used as a case study, the number of registered voters in an electoral ward located in Omuma Community in Oru East Local Government Area, the hometown of the Governor of the State (Hope Uzodinma) was magically falsified from 6,000 to 46,000. The 10m fake names, according to the leadership of CUPP, were sourced from forged and unknown names obtained from within and outside the country which included Ghana, Cameroon, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Togo, Guinea, Gambia and beyond Africa countries of Jamaica, Brazil, New Zealand, etc.
The CUPP leadership had at its Abuja press conference displayed extracts of the 2022 National Register of Voters from different States especially Imo State where the latest rigging plot was hatched and perpetrated. Significant among the discoveries was the fact that majority of the foreign names included were all born in 1983 despite whether their photographs showed they were old or young. Many were also shown to have been born between 1900 and 1914 yet their photographs were those of young people. Many other male photos had their gender written as female and vice versa. Photos of unknown persons and non humans bearing human names were also found in the evaluated extracts.
Similar Discoveries Made In Anambra in 2009
It is worth remembering that similar discoveries were made by Intersociety in Anambra State in 2009. Following alarms raised by concerned political actors ahead of the State’s Governorship Election later held on 6th Feb 2010, Intersociety took a study and evaluation of the State version of the National Register of Voters and shockingly discovered that ‘out of over 1.8m registered voters credited to the State by INEC, only about 600,000 were legitimate and active voters with 1.2m others bearing fake, dead and other fictitious names including non living objects like human skulls, windows, doors, blank spaces, planks as well as foreign names, dead citizens, forged names from passport photos and photo studios and names of non Anambra citizens residing outside the State but registered as “voters” of Anambra residency. For instance, there were photos of Late Gani Fawehimni, Wole Soyinka, Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Walter Sisulu, etc bearing different names and registered as “voters” in Ukpor, Ebe-na-Ato and Ekwulummili communities, all in Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Intersociety and other CSOs later dragged INEC before the Awka Division of the Federal High Court, insisting on “one physical-person-one-vote” which prevailed in the end. That was why Anambra State recorded the lowest number of total live votes cast in the Feb 6, 2010 Governorship Poll with slightly over 300,000 out of estimated 600,000 legitimately and actively registered voters. It must be remembered and pointed out that the first time the National Register of Voters was polluted with ghost names in tens of millions in Nigeria was in 2006-2009, prior to 2011 General Elections under Prof Mauris Iwu as INEC Chairman. Like the latest discoveries, many names were also shown to have been born between 1900 and 1914 yet their photographs were those of young people. Many other male photos had their gender written as female and vice versa. Photos of unknown persons and non humans bearing human names were also found in their millions in the 2006-2009 National Register of Voters.
INEC’s Reaction And White Lies Over Millions Of Ghost Names In The Voters’ Register
The INEC reacted to the above on 15th Sept 2022 and said nothing other than white lies and admission of culpability. The Commission’s National Commissioner for Information and Chairman, Voters’ Education, Festus Okoye Esquire, had reacted and said that “INEC is conducting a comprehensive Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) cleanup of the registration data by scrutinizing every record, after which the Commission shall appoint a period of seven days during which the register will be published for scrutiny by the public for objections and complaints”. He said that the Commission’s reaction had arisen after its Board had met. The Commission also falsely claimed that “no new names have been added to the National Register of Voters since the commencement and end of the 2021/2022 CVR exercise”; but admitted “invalidating (cleaning) 3,316 ineligible registrants so far in Gov Hope Uzodinma’s Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State”.
The white lies told by INEC above have since been rubbished by recent testimonies of the likes of Miss Adesina Paul Monijesu and Miss Joy Temitope who are victims of INEC’s “incomplete registrations”. The Commission had also in its indefensible defense failed to publicly disclose how millions of such ghost names it sourced from within and outside the country were smuggled into the National Register of Voters as “registered voters in Nigeria” whereas there are whopping 77.4m truly Nigerians of voting age disenfranchised by the Commission by not being registered and given PVCs; thereby disallowing them from participating and voting in the all-important Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll of the 2023 General Elections.
Undemocratic Litigations And Abuses Of Court Process Threaten 2023 Presidential Poll
One of the major rigging plots under the present INEC is likelihood of incessancy of undemocratic litigations and abuses of court process to manipulate and undermine the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Election in Nigeria. The leadership of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) had at its Wednesday, 14th Sept 2022 press conference displayed extracts of ongoing two court processes instituted at Owerri Division of the Federal High Court, with one of them praying the Court to restrain INEC from using electronic voter accreditation and voting machines and their procedures or processes and the other seeking for the “suspension of Chairman of INEC from office”. The first suit had specifically sought a restraining order against INEC “from deploying Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) or any similar device, equipment or instrument or gadget for purpose of accreditation of voters and electronically transmitting, feeding or collating the results of 2023 General Elections”. The suit was instituted through Suit No: FHC/OW/C9/144/2022 against INEC and its Chairman by one Nwankwere Morale Chinwen, a possibly brief holder for desperate and criminal political actors. Incessancy of undemocratic litigations and abuses of court process have been identified as one of the 50 rigging plots under INEC ahead of Nigeria’s Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Election.
As it was the case in 1993 (per Late Justice Rosaline Ikpeme), such undemocratic litigations and abuses of court process concerning the 2023 General Elections in Nigeria may most likely include court orders restraining INEC from continuing with presidential election or announcing its results or declaring its winner, which was the case in the 1993 botched announcement of the presidential election results under Prof Humphrey Nwosu as Nigeria’s Electoral Commission Chairman. The poll results had seen Late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, presidential candidate of the SDP, cruising home to victory. The annulment of the results was responsible for scuttling the democratic process of 1993 leading to military takeover and six years of military rule. Therefore, it is most likely correct to say that unless extreme care and measures are taken by Nigeria’s democratic forces and critical international actors, otherwise a violent military takeover is likely to be one of the rigging plots hatched ahead of the 2023 General Elections especially the Presidential Poll.
INEC’s New Commissioners List Flooded With Card-Carrying Ruling Party Members
The credibility and integrity of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission have continued to fumble and wobble following the recent flooding of the INEC’s new Electoral Commissioners’ List with several card carrying members of the country’s central ruling party (All Progressives Congress) and persons of questionable characters as nominees for post of Resident Electoral Commissioners. The Buhari/Osinbajo headed Nigerian Presidency had on 26th July 2022 forwarded the list to the country’s Senate for consideration and confirmation of the nominees. The INEC’s list included 14 newly nominated Resident Electoral Commissioners and five reappointed others. The request for their senatorial confirmation comes ahead of the all-important 25th Feb 2023 Presidential Election. This also followed final expiration of the tenure of 14 State Residential Commissioners and renewable expiration of five others. Critics and activists have raised serious concerns over the inclusion of at least four card-carrying members of the central ruling party (APC) and persons of questionable characters; a clear violation of paragraph 14 (2a) of the Third Schedule to Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution and Section 2 of the INEC Establishment Act of 2004.
The Constitutional Paragraph 14 (2a) had provided that: “a Resident Electoral Commissioner shall be non-partisan and a person of unquestionable integrity”. The dastradly act of the Presidency is also a clear breach of Section 154(3) of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution and other set down rules. This is by virtue of failure of the Presidency to consult the Council of State and subject the nominees to security verification before forwarding the list to the Senate. The four card-carrying central ruling party members nominated as new Resident Electoral Commissioners are: Muhammad Lawal Bashir, a 2015 APC governorship aspirant in Sokoto State; Pauline Onyeka Ugochi, a former head of INEC’s ICT in Imo State who earned notoriety for corruption and conniving with politicians in undermining elections; Elizabeth Agwu, a former Accountant General of Ebonyi State who was suspended in 2016 on the grounds of corruption and incompetence; and Uchenna Sylvia Agu, a Enugu State nominee who is younger sister of the current APC National Deputy Chairman for South-East Region. The above was part of the findings by some Civil Society Organizations working for the promotion of Democracy in Nigeria and was contained in their recent press conference addressed by the Director of Int’l Press Centre, Mr. Lanre Arogundade. The CSOs include: Yiaga Africa, the Kukah Centre, Int’l Press Center, Centre for Media and Society, the Albino Foundation, Elect Her, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Partners for Electoral Reforms and Inclusive Friends Association.
The integrity and neutrality of the rest of the nominees are also dotted with big question marks. Flooding the new list of INEC’s electoral commissioners with partisan and integrity challenged persons is not only a serious threat to the 25th Feb 2023 Presidential Election but also another grand rigging plot by the Commission and its co-travelers at Nigeria’s Presidency ahead of the all-important 2023 Presidential Election and has rubbished what remains of the Commission’s independence and neutrality and the integrity and credibility of its principal officers. Apart from the four confirmed card-carrying members of the central ruling party and persons of questionable characters, informed critics have also raised strong integrity and non-partisanship questions regarding the remaining eleven others. As a matter of fact, activist Lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has specifically demanded for withdrawal of the list of the 14 nominees by the Presidency from the Senate.
27 Rigging Plots Executed By INEC During The CVR
1. Ethno-Religious Shrinking Of Electoral Constituencies: The busted rigging plots by INEC ahead of its supervised national elections in Nigeria including the forthcoming 25th Feb 2023 Presidential Election, started with shrinking of delineation of constituencies, registration and voting centers across the country targeted at particular ethno-religious group or groups on the grounds of their tribe or religion
* Provision Of Inadequate Manpower And Machines For CVR: The 2022 Continuous Voters’ Registration (CVR) was marred by provision of inadequate manpower and machines for registration and their deployment in non Muslim areas especially South-East and South-South
* Widespread Malfunctioning Of Registration Machines: There were widespread reports during the 2022 CVR of malfunctioning of voters’ registration machines targeted at a particular ethno-religious group/groups in the Northern and Southern areas.
* Manipulation Of registration Machines Using Computer Command Languages: During the 2022 CVR, there were widespread reports of discriminatory programming of registration machines using computer command languages or instructions (garbage in, garbage out) intended to massively disenfranchise members of a particular ethnic group/groups or religion
* Secret Registration Centers Outside Nigerian Borders: During the 2022 CVR, there were widespread reports of secret running or creation of registration and polling centers (flying registration/voting centers) beyond the borders of Nigeria (.i.e. Southern Niger Republic) for purpose of capturing aliens as registered voters/voters during elections in Nigeria so as to artificially out-populate other members of the legitimate population and manipulate the demographic and electoral figures
* Discriminatory Issuance Of PVCs: The 2022 CVR exercise (28th June 2021-31st July 2022) also widely exposed non-issuance or discriminatory issuance of PVCs to registered voters on the grounds of their ethnicity or religion. Majority, if not most of the affected voting population was found to be among the no fewer than 20m registered citizens denied PVCs or Permanent Voters’ Cards by INEC since Nigeria’s last Presidential Election in Feb 2019.
* Registration Of Minors And Aliens As Registered Voters: During the 2022 CVR exercise, there were widespread reports of registration by INEC of minors and aliens as voters with intent to roguishly and falsely out-populate other legitimate members of the general voting population and maintain false demographic numerical superiority of them over others
* Ethno-Religious Padding Of Voting Capacity Of Non-Christians To Depopulate Others: The 2022 CVR exercise was marred by official padding on continuous basis of the voting figures of particular ethno-religious members of the general voting population with intent to continuously out-populate others and rig the Feb 2023 Presidential Poll in favor of the appointing authorities or institutions or favored another.
* Sponsorship Of Group Violence To Scare Others Away From Being Registered: During the 2022 CVR exercise, there were widespread reports of organizing or sponsoring of group violence against other group/citizens seeking to be registered as voters so as to massively disenfranchise them on the grounds of their tribe and religion. These were widely reported in Lagos, Federal Capital Territory, Sokoto, Kano and other northern areas dominated by non natives during which members of Igbo Ethnic Nationality were majorly targeted. This was perpetrated by desperate politicians in collusion with compromised security forces.
1. Application Of Ethnic And Religious Sentiments In Voter Registration: INEC was widely suspected during the 2022 CVR exercise to have applied ethnic and religious sentiments or policies in the handling of voters’ registration and distribution of permanent voters’ cards (2019-2021) including over concentration of registration machines and manpower in ethnic and religious favored areas and shrinking of same in other disfavored areas
1. Programming Of Registration Machines With Limitless Capacities In Muslim North: There were widespread reports during the 2022 CVR against INEC over its alleged secret programming of registration machines with limitless capturing capacities in the religious and ethnic favored areas (.i.e. Muslim held Northern Areas) and programming of the contrary with limited capacities (i.e. 500 registrants per machine) in disfavored areas (.i.e. Christian held Old Eastern and Mid Western Nigeria: Delta, Edo, Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi, Abia, Rivers, Cross River and Bayelsa States)
1. Massive Deployment Of Registration Machines/Personnel In The North: There were widespread reports during the 2022 CVR of massive deployment of registration machines and personnel in the favored areas (.i.e. Muslim held Northern areas) in addition to embarking on house-to-house voters’ registration in the Muslim held areas
1. Deployment Of Inadequate Registration Machines And Personnel In Non Muslim Areas: There was widespread deployment of inadequate machines and personnel in disfavored areas (.i.e. Christian held areas in the North and the South); forcing millions of citizens of voting age into long queues and their several repeat failed attempts to be registered leading to frustrations and self disenfranchisements
1. 90%/50% CVR Ratio Between Muslims And Non Muslims: The 2021/2022 CVR witnessed 90% registration for Muslims including minors and illegal aliens as against 50% registration for non Muslims in the South and the North bloc regions of Nigeria
1. Ulterior Motive Caused The Shutdown Of INEC Online Registration Portal: There was sudden and ulterior motive driven shutdown by INEC of its online voters’ registration portal on 31st May 2022, so as to deliberately and discriminatorily prevent high number of registrants from the South or among the computer literate youths and retain roguish high voters’ data for the North against the South; all perpetrated on ethno-religious grounds or sentiments
1. Four Out Of Every Five Registered In Muslim North As Against One Out Of Five In South-East: During the 2022 CVR, approximately four out of every five new voter-registrants were registered in Muslim held Northern areas as against only one out of every five registered in Christian held areas.
1. Extortion And Deprivations Marred CVR In The South: During the 2022 CVR, there were widespread reports of use or application by INEC of technical hitches including delaying tactics, shortage of machines and manpower, extortion and other bureaucratic stresses to deprive intending registrants from being captured as registered voters.
1. Poor Awareness And Lukewarm Attitudes: Widely reported during the 2022 CVR was general poor awareness creation for citizens wishing to be registered or those wishing to have their PVCs in Nigeria or any of its part thereof particularly in the South
1. Millions Nearing 18 Years Denied Registration In The South And Minors Registered In The North: Widely reported during the 2022 CVR was deliberate capturing of minors and other underage in Muslim held areas of North including Yobe State as registered voters and PVCs’ bearers and turning off same in the Christian held areas of South where millions with few weeks to attain the age of eighteen were turned back and refused registration.
* Proxy And House-to-House CVR In The North As Against Appearance In Person In The South: There were widespread reports during the 2022 CVR exercise of application or use of discriminatory voters’ registration and PVC distribution procedures between the Muslim held areas in the North and the Christian held areas in the South. These included use of proxies such as District, Family and Religious heads in the North in addition to house-to-house voter registration and issuance of PVCs as against use of manual queues, inadequate personnel and machines, extortion and other stressful and corrupt methods in the South
* Massive Destruction Of Millions Of New Registrants Targeted At Non Muslims: The 2022 CVR exercise was marred by massive destruction of millions of the newly captured or registered voters by INEC. The Commission had embarked on massive destruction of the newly registered voters to mark its frustration over an unprecedented surge in the number of citizens seeking to be registered, which the Commission clandestinely linked to popularity and acceptance by the citizenry of entrance into the presidential race by one or two popular and credible candidates ahead of the Feb 2023 Presidential Poll in Nigeria.
* Expression Of Partisanship/Frustration By INEC Officials By Attacking The Surge In 2022 CVR: Several media reports had quoted top INEC officials including the Resident Electoral Commissioner for the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja as having publicly attacked new registrants for “suddenly waking up from their slumbers”; a height of partisanship, compromise and incompetence.
These are also contrary to the extant legal provisions regarding voters’ registration in Nigeria or any part thereof with acronym: “Continuous Voters’ Registration”. The Commission also went ahead to shut out and disenfranchise whopping 3.6m newly registered voters from 10.4m registered as at 30th June 2022; claiming that out of which “only 6.8m were successfully registered”.
* Mass Disenfranchisement Of Voters Seeking Their PVC Revalidation And Transfer: The 2022 CVR exercise was marred by deliberate use or application of technical hitches by INEC to frustrate and stop registered voters seeking transfer of their PVCs and those with issue of loss or misplacement or defacing of their PVCs. Those unable to have their voters’ locations successfully changed or their defaced or lost or destroyed PVCs recaptured or updated during the CVR exercise are in hundreds of thousands, if not in millions. As it stands presently, they have been disenfranchised by INEC from participating and voting in the country’s Feb 2023 Presidential Poll and other elections.
* Disenfranchisement Of 77.4m Truly Nigerian Citizens Of Voting Age: At the end of the 2022 CVR exercise which commenced on 28th June 2021 and heightened in May 2022 following the emergence of more popular presidential candidates, total of over 30m citizens of voting age were disenfranchised and shut out of the forthcoming 25th Feb 2023 Presidential Poll having not been registered. The fate of more than 20m others is also hanging in balance having been registered but not issued with PVCs since 2019. There are also 15.4m others whose lawful registrations were deliberately destroyed by INEC as well as 12m newly registered voters yet to be issued with PVCs.
* Millions Of INEC-held PVCs Dumped In The Pit, Bushes And Gutters: Millions of non Muslim PVCs in INEC custody across the country have been taken out of INEC custody by criminal officials of the Commission and their colluding political party officials and destroyed since May 2022. For instance, on Sunday, 7th August 2022, tens of thousands of PVCs belonging to Igbo and Yoruba Christians were seen dumped on waterways and inside gutters and videoed and shared on social media by a concerned citizen taking a walk exercise along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway near Lagos State. On further investigation, it was discovered that the uncollected INEC-held Christian PVCs were criminally taken from far away INEC offices in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory and dumped in Lagos by hired politico-religious fanatics, in collusion with INEC. Not long ago, another video trended on social media, exposing the excavation of over 20,000 Christian PVCs in Obio/Akpor area of Rivers State. There was also a discovery by a hunter about in late July 2022 of 320 Christian PVCs inside an uncompleted building in Bayelsa Forest. In Igboeze North of Enugu State, in May 2022, INEC office was compromised and thousands of Christian PVCs made away with.
* INEC Suspiciously Shutdown Its Online Registration Portal To Disenfranchise Millions: It is the collective opinion of critics that monitored the 2022 CVR that INEC hurriedly closed the CVR on 31st July 2022 instead of Sept 2022 as clearly stipulated in the 2022 Electoral Act of Nigeria as amended in order to massively disenfranchise millions of Nigerians of voting age of Southern and Christian extractions and use the controversial 2019 National Register of Voters for purpose of rigging in a favored presidential candidate and his or her political party and rig out the widely popular others. The above further also explains why the Commission destroyed whopping 15.4m new registrations and is maintaining a snail pace speed in issuing 12m newly registered voters with their PVCs to enable them vote in the Feb 25 2023 Presidential Poll.
* Illegalities Of INEC In 2022 CVR Favored Desperation For Muslim-Muslim Presidential Ticket: By our general evaluation of the illegalities of INEC during the 2022 segment of the 2021/2022 CVR, it is most likely correct to say that the Commission has stopped at nothing at ensuring the delivery of Muslim-Muslim Presidency for Nigeria in 2023. This is to the extent that the Commission is not perturbed or worried by torrential outcries across the country over desperate efforts by the central ruling party (APC) to foist a Muslim President/Muslim Vice President in Nigeria; a country of 386 tribes, multi-religious groupings including roughly 50-50 Christians and Muslims and multicultural compositions.
These desperate efforts by promoters of Muslim-Muslim Presidency are nothing short of “full blown Islamic agenda”. Therefore, judging from the discriminatory and despicable roles of the Commission in the 2022 CVR elaborately highlighted in this Special Investigative Report, it is very correct to say that INEC has become the chief proponent of Muslim-Muslim Presidency ahead of the 2023 Presidential Poll.
23 Poll Rigging Plots Waiting For Execution
* Failure To Name Ownership Of Companies Supplying Sensitive Electoral Materials/Devices: Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has adamantly refused to publicly and truthfully disclose to Nigerians and the entire global community the company or companies and their owners presently handling the supply of machines for the printing of PVCs and other sensitive electoral materials or printing of PVCs and voting and result sheets; or those handling contracts for the supply of sensitive electoral machines such as Bimordal Voters’ Accreditation System (BVAS) and Voters’ Enrolment Device (IReV), etc.
It must be recalled that in 2019, the present INEC Chairman publicly admitted that the then APC Senatorial Candidate (now a serving Senator) for Niger East Senatorial District, Senator Mohammed Musa’s Activate Technologies Limited was responsible for supply of machines used for printing of PVCs and other sensitive electoral materials (see Tribune Online of 17th Feb 2019). INEC’s refusal to publicly speak on the matter despite written demands to that effect by Intersociety and Inter-College for Democracy and Human Rights is a confirmation of strong suspicions that such contracts are in the hands of chieftains of the central ruling party including its serving elected public officers and leading candidates in the 2023 national elections especially the Presidential segment of the polls. The silence of INEC is also seen as one of the grand rigging plots ahead of the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll.
* Militarization Of Election Arenas: Going by recent electoral outcomes and findings in Nigeria or any part thereof especially during the 2019 Presidential Election, there is most likely going to be militarization of election arenas under INEC’s watch and collusion in the Feb 2023 Presidential Poll so as to frighten voters and scare them away. This will be widespread and targeted at opposition strongholds and on the grounds of their tribe and religion
* Instigation Of Group Violence And Other Sponsored Attacks: Going by recent electoral outcomes and findings in Nigeria or any part thereof especially during the 2019 Presidential Election, there is most likely going to be instigation of group violence and other coordinated attacks against members of a particular voting population on the grounds of their faith and tribe so as to massively disenfranchise and stop them from voting in the Feb 2023 Presidential Poll. The above was widely the case in non native areas of Lagos, Kano, Plateau, FCT, Kaduna and others in the 2019 Presidential and Governorship Elections
* Padding Of Votes And Inflation Of Results: Going by recent electoral outcomes and findings in Nigeria or any part thereof especially during the 2019 Presidential Election, there may most likely be widespread padding of voting figures and inflation of results in the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll by malicious electoral officials using crooked computer software to favor the favored candidates.
* BVAS And IReV Devices To Be Programmed For Mass Failure In Non Muslim Areas: Going by recent electoral outcomes and findings in Nigeria or any part thereof especially during the 2019 Presidential Election, there may most likely be programming of accreditation and voting capturing machines in the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll for widespread failures targeted at the opposition strong-holds for purpose of mass disenfranchisement of members of the affected voting population
* Strict Application Of Use Of BVAS And IReV In The South: Going by recent electoral outcomes and findings in Nigeria or any part thereof especially during the 2019 Presidential Election, there is most likely going to be application of strict procedures in the South during the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Election including facilitation of widespread failure of INEC’s voters’ accreditation and voting machines such as the ‘Voter’s Enrolment Device (IReV)’ and the ‘Bimodal Voter’s Accreditation System (BVAS)’ using computer’s monopolized command languages as against application of the contrary (compromised) methods and procedures in the North
* Loose Procedures Including Manual Voting Likely In Muslim Areas: Going by recent electoral outcomes and findings in Nigeria or any part thereof especially during the 2019 Presidential Election, there may most likely going to be relaxation or loose application of biometric voter accreditation and voting procedures in the North especially in Muslim held areas in the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Election. The strict procedures include use of manual voting and collation of results are most likely to be perpetrated in the area using radical ethno-religious groups and compromised security forces especially soldiers. The above was widely reported to be the case during the 2019 Presidential Election
* Unchecked And Indiscriminate Vote Buying In Opposition Strongholds: Going by recent electoral outcomes and findings in Nigeria or any part thereof especially during the 2019 Presidential Poll, there may most likely going to be unchecked or indiscriminate vote buying in opposition strongholds in the Feb 2023 Presidential Poll, to be perpetrated and perfected at targeted percentage of the country’s 176,000 plus poling units and 8,809 electoral wards.
* Incessant Cases Of Ballot Box Snatching And Destruction Of Result Sheets: Going by recent electoral outcomes and findings in Nigeria or any part thereof especially during the 2019 Presidential Election, there may most likely going to be incessant cases of ballot box snatching and destruction of voting materials in the forthcoming Feb 2023 Presidential Poll
* Deliberate Late Arrival Of Voting Materials And Personnel: Going by recent electoral outcomes and findings in Nigeria or any part thereof, especially during the 2019 Presidential Election, there is likely going to be deliberate late arrival of voting materials and personnel as well as late accreditation of voters in addition to other hitches such as failure of capturing and voting machines. These are to be targeted at opposition strongholds in the North and South including Anambra, Edo and others; all with intent to disenfranchise millions of voters from the areas from willingly and timely voting candidates of their choice.
* Escalation Of State Actor Violence Or Military Siege: Going by recent electoral outcomes and findings in Nigeria or any part thereof, especially during the 2019 Presidential Election, there is most likely going to be intensification and escalation of state actor violence including military siege, military and police brutalities and deadly use of force; with intent to scare away millions of voters yearning to vote for candidates of their choice.
* Doctoring Of Paper And Electronic Voting Figures In Polling Units: Going by recent electoral outcomes and findings in Nigeria or any part thereof, especially during the 2019 Presidential Election, there is most likely going to be widespread doctoring of paper and electronic voting figures in polling units, collation centers and INEC’s strong rooms in the Feb 2023 Presidential Poll by criminal electoral officials in collusion with desperate political parties and their candidates.
* Uncollected And Stolen PVCs As A Major Source Of Rigging: Going by recent electoral outcomes and findings in Nigeria or any part thereof, especially during the 2019 Presidential Election, uncollected and procured Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) are most likely going to be a major source of election rigging in the Feb 2023 Presidential Poll. In collusion with INEC, desperate politicians have been going about procuring and hoarding millions of such PVCs for electronic and server rigging of the crucial poll. In July 2022, some political aides suspected to be working for the Gov of Borno State, wearing his customized faze caps were caught in a video sharing N500 notes among women and children and collecting their PVCs at a location that looked like IDP Camp in the State.
Intersociety had since 2017 made several findings and exposed several plots concerning the new pattern introduced and used by INEC in collusion with desperate politicians to scientifically rig national and sub-national elections using INEC-held and procured PVCs. This was exposed during the Anambra State Governorship Elections of Nov 2017 and Nov 2021. Collected PVCs include those criminally procured by politicians and uncollected PVCs include those INEC-held PVCs belonging to registered citizens still in the custody of INEC but compromised and handed over to desperate politicians to be used in scientific poll rigging. These criminal PVCs become instruments for scientific poll rigging when they are criminally captured on INEC severs and uploaded on Election Day as “validly cast votes” and credited to votes allocated to favored candidates as “validly cast votes”.
Their criminal processes are manually perfected by INEC by compromising ballot papers in commensurate quantity or number with the number of criminal PVCs uploaded. The compromised ballot papers are thump-printed at designated criminal quarters for purpose of manually legitimizing the criminal act at electoral courts. In the Nov 18 2017 Governorship Election in Anambra State, INEC declared 8,540 voters as “having been accredited but did not vote”. This is even when INEC had used and still uses “simultaneous accreditation and voting” method. It later turned out that the figures were the shortfall between the criminally uploaded PVCs and criminally thump-printed ballot papers. The Commission had no other option than to invalidate them to avoid being in trouble at electoral courts.
* Election Postponements And Inconclusive Elections: Going by recent electoral outcomes and findings in Nigeria or any part thereof, especially during the 2019 Presidential Poll, election postponements and inconclusive elections have become a rigging tool under INEC. This is such that they are used, in addition to heavy militarization of mapped out areas, to brazenly and mindlessly deprive voters of their inalienable rights to elect popular candidates of their choice. Once the mapped out arenas are heavily militarized under the pretext of ‘election security’, most of the voters become scared and stay away to avoid being harmed leading to riggers having a field day. These were brazenly the case in the 2019 Presidential Poll and 2018 Osun State Governorship Election and it is most likely going to be the case in the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll in Nigeria.
* Indiscriminate Planting And Detonation Of Explosives To Scare Millions Of Voters Away: Going by recent electoral outcomes and findings in Nigeria or any part thereof, especially during the 2019 Presidential Poll, independent intelligence at our disposal is strongly pointing at the likelihood of eruption of indiscriminate planting and detonation of bombs and other explosive devices months or weeks to the Feb 2023 Presidential Election; to be targeted in opposition strongholds. With troubling state of security across the country including the untamed and menacing attacks by Jihadists and subversive activities of radicalized or extremist elements within the country’s security forces, these fears are both informed and sustained. Election related bombings or explosions have become part of election riggings with intent to scare away most of the independent voters and provide a field day for state actor and non state actor poll riggers.
* Emergence Of State Actor And Non-State Actor Political Death Squads: Considering the escalation and heightening of state actor and non state actor violence against persons and properties in the country, fueled by INEC’s determination to force unpopular and failed presidential candidates on Nigerians through its catalogues of 50 illegalities, ‘state actor and non state death squads, if unchecked, will escalate and heighten insecurity, fears and other unsafe conditions against voting and general Nigerian population ahead of Nigeria’s crucial Feb 25, Presidential Poll
The risen death squads include those raised within the security forces (Army, Police and DSS and their allied entities) and those raised from the Jihadists and militants; funded by Government and deadly political actors to target for elimination or terrorization of political figures and their security and civilian aides (collateral victims) with intent to frighten and scare away millions of independent voters and rig the Feb 2023 Presidential Poll.
* Hanging Fate Of 32m Registered Voters Denied PVCs: Going by illegalities of INEC perpetrated during the 2022 Continuous Voters’ Registration (CVR) and remorseless and recalcitrant stance maintained by the Commission, the hopes of millions of registered voters including the 20m denied PVCs since 2019 and the 12m recently registered but yet to be issued with PVCs are hanging in balance with slimmest chance of them participating and voting in the all-important Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Election. Danger is also rocking for hundreds of thousands of others whose names, many, if not most of whom Christians, are most likely to be bureaucratically omitted or disenfranchised with ulterior motives by INEC from their local Voters’ Registers. The latter are most likely going to be victims of Election Day PVC disenfranchisement.
* Worrying Disparity Of 90% Muslim And 50% Christian PVCs Distribution: Apart from informed and sustained fears over possibility of more criminal disenfranchisement of millions of newly registered voters who are part of the 12m INEC accepted to have successfully registered between 28th June 2021 and 31st July 2022, strong indications abound that most of those retained as “finally accepted registered voters” are not going to be issued with PVCs to enable them participate and vote in the crucial Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Election. Several findings made by Intersociety have indicated that INEC has earned notoriety in discriminatory issuance and distribution of PVCs especially using ethnicity and religion. It has been observed that the ratio for issuing and distributing PVCs in Nigeria by INEC between Muslim held areas especially in the North and Christian/other non Muslim held areas especially in the South is 90%/50% or 90% for the Muslims and 50% for Christians
While INEC adopts issuance and distribution of PVCs in Muslim held areas especially in the North using District, Family and Religious heads, the Commission adopts very strict and cumbersome methods in Christian held areas especially in the South. Pieces of evidence also abound in Christian held areas especially Southern Nigeria whereby registered voters find their ways to Local Government INEC offices in search of their PVCs and meet such offices repeatedly empty or ill-equipped with inadequate personnel. Sometimes they are subjected to sundry extortion or will be asked to repeat their check-visits. At other times, such PVCs will be nowhere to be located or they are found dumped undistributed at INEC’s State or National Headquarters. The worst of it all is that it stands today, INEC has not shown any readiness and seriousness of ensuring all-inclusive and effective ways of issuing and distributing PVCs including adoption of proxy or District, Family and Religious headship collection methods used for Muslim held areas.
* Case Of $11b (N6.5 trillion) Alleged Govt. 2023 Presidential Poll Mega Rigging Plan: Added to all of the above is a recent documentary that widely trended in the social media strongly alleging ‘evil plots’ by federal authorities (Government of Nigeria) and its ruling party and some agencies and parastatals (named in the documentary), in collusion with INEC to massively and scientifically manipulate the 25th Feb 2023 Presidential Election. The alleged mega rigging plot is to be executed with whopping N6.5trillion or $11b which is to be sourced through illegitimate means by some national and sub-national public office agencies including governors of the States controlled by the federal ruling party. The widely social trended documentary was tagged: “2023 Presidential Election Evil Plans of APC”. The above serious allegation was included for response or reaction in our joint letter of 14th July 2022 to INEC and till today, the Commission has refused to speak publicly on it.
* 10m Alien, Under-Age And Ghost Voters May Pollute 2023 Presidential Results: With fresh busting and discovery of more than 10m fake voters in 22 States including Imo with largest number, the unlikelihood of citizens’ votes counting in Nigeria’s Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll has further grown. The Nigeria’s Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), a leading political pressure group had freshly uncovered flooding of INEC’s National Register of Voters with no fewer than 10m fake voters’ registrations in 22 States with Imo State having the highest number of registered fake voters.
The fresh discovery of another major rigging plot ahead of the country’s crucial Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll was publicly made known on Wednesday, 14th Sept 2022 in a world press conference addressed by CUPP’s Spokesperson, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere and other officials of the political pressure group. The rigging plot was perpetrated by INEC and APC officials by lifting and uploading fake names and passport photos of unknown persons from brochures, calendars and photo studios and have same flooded in the current National Register of Voters as “current registered voters”. The CUPP’s estimated 10m registered fake voters from 22 States are criminally programmed to be uploaded on Election Day as ‘pre-accredited voters/validly cast votes”.
* Undemocratic Litigations And Abuses Of Court Process: As it was the case in 1993 (per Late Justice Rosaline Ikpeme), such undemocratic litigations and abuses of court process concerning the 2023 General Elections in Nigeria especially the Presidential Poll may most likely include court orders restraining INEC from using electronic devices such as BVAS or continuing with presidential election or announcing its results and declaring its winner. Such was responsible for scuttling the democratic process of 1993 leading to military takeover and six years of military rule. Therefore, it is most likely correct to say that unless extreme care and measures are taken by Nigeria’s democratic forces and critical international actors, otherwise a violent military takeover is likely to be one of the rigging plots hatched ahead of the 2023 General Elections especially the Presidential Poll.
* 7m-11m “Incomplete Registrants” May Be Used In Rigging The 2023 Presidential Poll: With testimonial accounts of Miss Adesina Paul Monijesu and Miss Joy Temitope and several ‘dark figure’ accounts, suspicions and fears are strong pointing to the likelihood of the Independent National Electoral Commission diverting greater number of the 7m-11m disenfranchised “incomplete registrants” into digital rigging of the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll in Nigeria. If not monitored and effectively checked, they will swell the number of millions of ghost names, illegal aliens and persons of under-age or minors already flooded and smuggled by INEC into the 2022 National Register of Voters. If legitimate and lawful personal data of millions of citizens of voting age given to INEC by their owners in trust could be compromised and criminally exchanged with fictitious or ghost pictures of unknown males and females and validated as “registered voters” outside the locations of their original owners; the likelihood of them being used for digital rigging of the Poll is very high and certain.
* Continuation Of 90%/50% Disparity In PVC Distribution Between Muslims And Non Muslims: From the look of things including realities on the ground, there will be continuation of 90%/50% disparity between Muslims and non Muslims in the issuance and distribution of Permanent Voters’ Cards or PVCs by Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Owing to the fact that INEC had long ago programmed this policy of serious disparity in voters’ registration and PVC distribution, it is very unlikely that the Commission, except under serious international pressure and rebuking, will have a genuine change of heart. This is more so when the Commission is battling with time constraints ahead of the 2023 General Elections. With regard to the 32m registered citizens without PVCs-mainly non Muslims, it is projected that only a fraction will receive PVCs between end of Sept and Dec 2022. For clarity, in the CVR and PVC distribution exercises conducted in Nigeria from 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022, Muslims including Muslim minors and aliens had taken 90% as against their non Muslim counterparts (with zero minor and alien age bracket representations), who recorded 50% representation.
Prayers:
Tying International Funding Supports To INEC To Credible Electoral Accountability
We are respectfully calling on critical international institutions and Governments especially the Governments of United States, United Kingdom, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, Canada, Portugal, Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Australia, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, etc, and their democracy and human rights funding agencies as well as the European Union and relevant UN Agencies and other important international institutions providing funding supports for democracy in Nigeria or any part thereof to forensically monitor and evaluate Nigeria’s INEC and its activities especially with regard to Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Election to ensure at all times that the funding supports to the Commission are uncompromisingly tied to credible electoral accountability including massive enfranchisement of citizens and issuance of PVCs to all registered citizens of voting age.
This, Nigeria’s INEC must be pressured or compelled to do without discrimination as to the voting age citizens’ class, gender, religion and ethnicity. Such mandatory citizens of voting age enfranchisement must include non-discriminatorily registering them during Continuous Voters’ Registration and issuing them with Permanent Voters’ Cards during PVC distribution which must be done in proportionality of number of those registered during CVR. Several credible international and local sources abound showing that hundreds of millions of Dollars or British Pounds or Euros from international governmental funding agencies and independent others have continued to be given to Nigeria’s INEC for delivery of inclusive and participatory credible elections in Nigeria or any part thereof; with contrary always being the case.
A typical case in point was the recent announcement by the Biden Government of the United States of its plan to “commit over $25m in coming year to Nigeria’s INEC and CSOs working for promotion of democracy ahead of Nigeria’s 2023 General Elections; subject to US Congress approval”. The US Government’s announcement was made during recent bilateral meeting between US Vice President, Madam Kamala Harris and her Nigerian counterpart, Prof Yemi Osinbajo. The US Government and the US Congress must therefore be put in the statistical know soonest concerning what Nigeria’s INEC is presently cooking as elaborately highlighted in this Special Investigative Report. The international actors called upon must avoid continuing funding or supports to ethno-religious jingoists pretending to be neutral electoral umpire.
Invitation To Critically Study And Analyze This Special Investigative Report
For purpose of understanding the enormity of rot in Nigeria’s INEC and the extent of the Commission’s derogation of international laws and rules guiding democracy and democratic process in order to form sound judgment or opinion on INEC, Intersociety is prayerfully inviting the above named international critical actors and institutions to patiently and forensically study this Special Investigative Report including the busted 50 poll rigging plots. Where there is want of reading time, the Special Investigative Report can be assigned to their Desk Officers for reading and analytical report of the Special Investigative Report to their superiors. Apart from our firm demand for credible electoral accountability by Nigeria’s INEC from the international critical democracy actors or players called upon, there is also need to internationally blacklist and sanction key INEC officials including its serving Chairman and all National and State Resident Electoral Commissioners. Such sanctions should include denying them and their families visas and resident permits in key democratic countries and world powers as well as denying them international recognitions including participation in international conferences and exchange programs and thorough monitoring of their finances, investments and lifestyles for purpose of exposing and blocking them.
Compel INEC To Locate Registered Citizens And Issue Them PVCs
Critically international actors called upon including the respected world Democracies particularly the United States Government and the US Congress are prayerfully called upon to mount sufficient pressure on Nigeria’s INEC to devise all means necessary and available to issue registered citizens of the country, numbering over 32m and identified in this Special Investigative Report, with their PVCs to enable them participate and vote in the all-important Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Election in Nigeria. Our recent findings have shown that unless Nigeria’s INEC is compelled internationally including tying its international funding supports and recognitions to credible electoral accountability; otherwise the Commission will remain unmoved and continue to hide under flimsy excuses and delaying tactics until the crucial Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll is successfully subjected to “industrial scale” rigging. The present INEC leadership in Nigeria is found to be unrepentantly and unpretentiously deriving maximum joy in disenfranchising tens of millions of unregistered and registered voters by denying them registration and access to their PVCs on the grounds of their tribe and religion. The Commission must also be compelled internationally to wipe out all traces of registered minors, illegal aliens and ghost names presently estimated at no fewer than 15m from Nigeria’s current National Register of Voters.
Researched And Investigated For Intersociety By:
Emeka Umeagbalasi, Criminologist/Researcher
Grassroots Democracy and Human Rights Advocate since 1995
Fellow, Int’l Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US States Department (Class of June 2013)
Board Chair/Lead-Director, Int’l Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety)
Assisted By:
Chinwe Umeche Esquire, LLB, BL, Head, Democracy and Good Governance, Intersociety
Chidinma Udegbunam Esquire, LLB, BL, Head, Campaign and Publicity, Intersociety
Obianuju Joy Igboeli Esquire, LLB, BL, Head, Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Intersociety
SOURCE
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