…Imo Govt., INEC Vicariously liable for burning residence of Ikenga Imo and killings by “Government Unknown Gunmen”

Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria

Sunday, 15th Jan 2023

Imo State As Animal Kingdom And Most Failed Sub-National Government In Southern Nigeria

Imo State is now animal kingdom where life has become endangered, nasty, short and brutish; and as such the most failed Sub-National Government in Southern Nigeria, if not Nigeria as a whole. Imo State has also become ‘Nigeria’s capital of sub-national dictatorship and lawlessness-where state instruments of coercion have collapsed and been converted to instruments for pursuit of political vendetta and terrorization of defenseless citizens and their properties using false labeling, class criminalization and stigmatization. Imo also leads Anambra and Ebonyi States as three sub-national entities or states in Southern Nigeria where criminals are now treated by political authorities as law abiding citizens as against law abiding citizens accorded the status of criminals or criminal class. In the three States, too, it is now a crime to be law abiding or engage in meaningful/lawful activities with political authorities arming criminals to unleash mayhem on such law abiding citizens for chosen to be law abiding and stay off crimes or social vices. Imo State has further become “Nigeria’s champion of destruction” by being ‘the most terrorized; followed by Enugu in Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen invasions, abductions and killings; military and police extrajudicial killings, abductions and disappearances; burning down of defenseless civilians’ houses and other property destructions by military, police, armed counterfeit agitators and “Government Unknown Gunmen”. The State also tops the list of assaults and attacks on women including frame-ups and indiscriminate arrests, unlawful detention, class criminalization, custodial torture, sexual violence and open and custodial killing of women of menopausal and non menopausal age brackets. In the same Imo State, civil and security abductions and killings have become a recurring decimal averaging at least ten abductions/killings per day.

Imo Govt., INEC Vicariously Behind Burning Down Of Ikenga Imo’s Residence, Killings

The Government of Imo State and the Independent National Electoral Commission are vicariously behind the latest Akokwa Mayhem in Ide-Ato North Local Government Area of Imo State involving massive burning down of several houses, automobiles and other valuable properties by “Government Unknown Gunmen” in the ancestral home of Hon Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, PDP’s House of Reps Candidate for Ide-Ato Federal Constituency. In the mayhem that ensued, not only that several defenseless properties were set ablaze and burned beyond recognition, but also unspecified number of defenseless citizens including an uncle to the PDP House of Reps Candidate were shot and killed or injured. It must also be clearly pointed out that the attacks on the PDP House of Reps Candidate are expressly and vicariously linked to his outspokenness especially his recent disclosure of several rigging plots by INEC and Government of Imo State ahead of the 2023 General Elections particularly the Presidential Poll fixed for 25th Feb 2023. Hon Ugochinyere Ikenga Imo had on 14th Sept 2022, in his capacity as the National Spokesperson of the Coalition of the Registered Political Parties or CUPP, graphically exposed how INEC and Government of Imo State doctored and inflated the National Register of Voters with fictitious identities in Imo State and had same replicated in about 22 States numbering not less than 10m fake names as “INEC registered voters”. The CUPP, with PDP’s Ugochinyere Ikenga Imo as their spokesperson, had also on 21st Nov 2022 raised fresh alarms with more discoveries including uncovering the harvesting of over 10m PVCs and their owners’ Voter Identification Numbers (VINs) using different phony charities and names spread across majority of the country’s 36 States.

Akokwa Mayhem As Part Of Diabolical Anti Democracy Resistance By State Autocrats

Nigeria’s State autocrats are engaging in several diabolical anti democracy resistances against the tireless efforts of the risen and unyielding democratic forces to re-write Nigeria’s dark democracy history especially in Feb 2023 Presidential Poll. Nigeria under Buhari/Osinbajo had witnessed darkest transformation into dictatorship and thievery including transformation of the country’s state actor democratic institutions (Police, Military, INEC, Anti Corruption Bodies, Justice Bodies, etc and their oversight institutions, etc) into anti democratic institutions including instruments for polling rigging and public office corruption. This is to the extent that the country’s security agencies and their high commands are widely suspected to have been presidentially briefed to ‘return the country’s reign of power to the status quo no matter what it takes’. It is our strong suspicion that in furtherance of the State’s desperation and diabolism, more devilish and devastating attacks on innocent lives and properties are to be expected in coming weeks especially in South-East, South-South and non native/Muslim South-West, North-Central, North-East and North-West against persons and entities insisting that next month or Feb 25, 2023’s Presidential Poll must be free, fair, inclusive and credible.

We Pity Post Feb 2023 Presidential Poll Era If Massively Rigged By The State Establishments

The insistence of the Nigerian State Establishments to massively rig next month’s Presidential Poll will have far reaching post presidential poll short term, medium term and long term consequences on Nigeria or any part thereof if the pro establishment poll riggers are locally and internationally allowed to have their ways. Also with the near-total collapse of the functions or duties of the country’s security establishments especially those with investigative and prosecutorial powers, there will be a geometric increase in aggrieved or victimized citizens’ resort to radical self help or violent self defense leading to embryos of dismemberment and “Somali melting pot” taking a center stage in the country or any part thereof. As it stands, Nigerians are speedily losing faith and confidence in the country’s policing and defense authorities and their competences. A typical case in point is the fact that since 2021, 90%, if not more of cases involving premeditated murders including open and captivity killings and abductions particularly in South-East and South-South have remained unsuccessfully investigated and prosecuted; in addition to their outright commercialization using rapacious extortion of the affected victims by the so called “Investigating authorities or officers”.

Similarly, over 98% of cases involving conduct atrocity perpetration and perpetuation including unlawful killings and extrajudicial executions by police and military in addition to citizens’ abductions and disappearances have remained uninvestigated and their perpetrators un-reprimanded till date. Totality of these has given rise to recycling impunity and repeat-offenses by state actor and non state actor perpetrators. Intersociety hereby strongly calls on Nigerian Government and its Sub-National counterparts to back off from their desperation and suicidal bids to rig the Feb 25 Presidential Poll using security agencies and their high commands. Tens of millions of ordinary Nigerians with PVCs or their equivalents must be allowed and protected to conscientiously vote presidential, gubernatorial and legislative candidates of their choice in the Feb and March 2023 General Elections.

In Solidarity With Ikenga Imo And Calling For Unbiased/Independent Investigation

Intersociety deeply commiserates with Hon Ikenga Ugochinyere Imo, his family, CUPP, political associates and party (PDP) over unimaginable destructions visited on his country home and defenseless properties by Imo State base “Government Unknown Gunmen” in which Government of Imo State and INEC are inescapably vicariously liable. Going by near-total collapse and brazen incompetence of the country’s investigative and prosecutorial security agencies and their high commands, Intersociety is compelled to demand for international civil and criminal investigations into the Akokwa Mayhem. The European Union, Canada, UK, US and other credible and powerful western democracies and relevant UN democracy and rights bodies are strongly called upon to take urgent and appropriate diplomatic steps to compel the Government of Nigeria to fish out perpetrators of political mayhem within its establishments and those in the sub-national political entities. The referenced international actors are also called upon to under further steps in blacklisting and appropriately sanctioning those found to be directly and vicariously involved at national and sub-national levels.

Signed: For: International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety)

Criminologist/Researcher

Board Chair @ Intersociety

Chinwe Umeche Esquire

Head, Democracy and Good Governance @ Intersociety

Obianuju Joy Igboeli Esquire

Head, Civil Liberties and Rule of Law @ Intersociety

Chidinma Udegbunam Esquire

Head, Campaign and Publicity Department @ Intersociety

Contacts: Phone/WhatsApp: +2348174090052, Email: info@intersociety-ng.org , Website: https://intersociety-ng.org