• HURIWA warns politicians against endangering democracy

The African Democratic Congress has demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Kuje Area Council Chairman, Mr Samuel Shekwolo, over his reported declaration that residents must vote for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) or leave the council area.

However, the Chief Protocol Officer to the Chairman of Kuje Area Council, Tumaka Stephen, has dismissed the allegation as out of context, stating that the chairman’s remarks, which sparked controversy after a video circulated on social media, were intended to encourage residents to support the ruling party over the development projects underway in Kuje area.

According to him, the chairman did not threaten anyone or seek to deprive residents of their right to vote for candidates of their choice but merely urged them to reciprocate the development in their area.

In the meantime, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has raised the alarm over what it described as a growing pattern of political intolerance, threats and alleged misuse of public institutions against opposition politicians and citizens ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The group specifically called on Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and Shekwolo to desist from conduct capable of undermining Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party called it “a threat of forced displacement” that breaches Sections 40, 41 and 42 of the Constitution. It linked the remark to APC Senator Francis Fadahunsi, who was questioned and released without charge after threatening opposition voters during the Osun governorship election.

Further tracing both comments to President Bola Tinubu’s July 29 comment that “all is fair in politics,” the party demanded that the president should personally clarify his statement and call his party to order.

Also calling for Shekwolo’s arrest and prosecution, the ADC described his statement as “a threat of forced displacement,” adding that “in a country that has buried too many of its people to political violence, it is an invitation to anarchy.”

It further said that Tinubu’s “All is fair in politics” statement is not idle but rather an instruction to every office holder who owes his position to the president.

Meanwhile, in a statement yesterday by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA urged the relevant authorities to take Shekwolo’s statement and other developments seriously. It warned against any attempt by political office holders to use security agencies, state institutions or public resources to intimidate opposition politicians or voters.

The group also expressed concern over the political situation in Imo State involving the member representing Ideato North/South Federal Constituency, Ikenga Ugochinyere.

It said it was troubling that a serving lawmaker had to approach a court to secure protection from the Imo State Government, security agencies and chairmen of Ideato North and Ideato South local councils for activities that ordinarily fall within the constitutional rights to freedom of movement, expression, association and peaceful assembly.

Among others, HURIWA also recalled comments attributed to Governor Otu over opposition politicians ahead of the 2027 elections, with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Cross River State, Arthur Archibong, accusing the governor of threatening to “crush” opposition politicians.

The organisation further expressed concern over statements attributed to Wike following the August 15 governorship election in Osun State, over which the minister had said that if President Tinubu had wanted to win the election “at all costs,” he would have been involved and “we would have won it.”