BREAKING NEWS!!! ANAMBRA DEBACLE UPDATE: DETAINED OBSERVERS RELEASED! The 181 Election Monitors arrested by Imo state police ahead of the ill-fated Anambra election last Thursday has been released by a Magistrate Court today in Owerri in the most liberal terms having been properly identified as legitimate INEC observers. It will be recalled that the police charged the observers to court on Monday, 18th November, 2013 with a three count charge; conspiracy to commit misdemeanour, to wit, unlawful assembly; unlawful assembly and conduct likely to breach peace.The case was midway when the police apparently acting on orders from above stormed the court in an outright Hitler manner corked their guns acting wildly, forcefully discharged the accused and whisked the suspect away from the presence of the presiding magistrate. The trial came to an abrupt end after the magistrate waited to see if the police would have a change of heart. All the senior lawyers at the court expressed utmost shock at the sordid development, noting that they have never witnessed such an incident in recent history, not even at the height of military rule. It is been speculated around Anambra that Abuja must have been angered by the inability of Imo state police to cajole the detained observers in Owerri to rope-in opposition leaders. Nigerian Civil Society communities have condemned the arrest of the observers. “I have never witnessed this time of rape and humiliation of the judiciary in my 29 years of practice, not even during the draconian era of Abacha. This is a bad signal for 2015, the growing intolerance and Gestapo-like operations of the federal government operatives are becoming very worrisome” says Barr Soronnadi Njoku the former Attorney General of Imo state. The Executive Chairman of The Coalition Against Corrupt Leader (CACOL) Comrade Debo Adeniran, described the arrest as an attempt to manipulate the election in favour of some political brigandage that has been holding the country down. Adeniran told media men that it is very unfortunate that the situation is happening at a time when the country is supposed to be more enlightened and sensitive to election issues, adding that it has become customary for the police to be used as tools against the electorates during election. “The handwriting was clear on the wall that the arrest was an attempt to cripple the civil society group from monitoring the Anambra election”, he emphasized. (africanexaminer/anambra-poll-group-condemns-arrest-of-election-observers/) Osun State chapter of Civil Societies Coalition (OSCSC), an umbrella body for all civil rights groups in Osun, called for the immediate and unconditional release of the 180 Justice and Equity Organisation members arrested in Imo State. The group also condemned the arrest of their members by the Imo Police Command, describing their arrest as an affront on their fundamental human rights. Addressing a press conference in Osogbo, acting chairman of the organisation, Biodun Agboola, said all the 180 people arrested were on their way to Awka in Anambra State to monitor the governorship election in the state. (channelstv/home/2013/11/15/anambra-elections-osun-civil-society-coalition-condemn-police-parade-of-members/ ) After all the drama, the hype and the anticlimax, the judiciary has once again stepped-in and saved Nigeria from another round of embarrassment. The matter has been adjourned till February 2014 for the police to come and prove their allegation. The observers have since been left off police hooks. Reports from the released observers showed that they are in high spirit, expressing that their ordeal is part of theirs sacrifices for deepening Nigerian democratic space. They are expected to soon relay the account of their ordeal in the hands of Nigerian Police.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 19:02:21 +0000