NHRC condemns Obanikoro’s confirmation

NHRC condemns Obanikoro’s confirmation

Chairman, NHRC, Prof. Chidi-Ansalem Odinkalu
The National Human Rights Commission has condemned the nomination and
confirmation of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro as a minister.
The Chairman of the NHRC, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, gave his position during an
interview with journalists in Lagos on Wednesday.
Obanikoro, alongside leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, had been accused
of using soldiers to rig the Ekiti governorship election last year in which Mr.
Ayodele Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party emerged the winner.
An audio tape purportedly captured the voices of Fayose, Senator Iyiola Omisore,
Obanikoro and others, allegedly giving orders to soldiers to arrest leaders of the
All Progressives Congress on the eve of the June 21, 2014 election.
However, the NHRC boss said Obanikoro should not have been nominated by
President Goodluck Jonathan because the allegations against him were too
weighty.
He said, “Let me say on record that the allegations in Ekiti State as regards last
year’s elections are too serious not to be investigated and pending that
investigation, my view is that it does not seem right for a person against whom
those allegations have been made, should be put forward for ministerial
nomination.
“The right thing to do is to stand down the nomination, do an investigation and if
the person is cleared, put the person’s name forward. But until an investigation,
people can be aggravated by this and you don’t want to play politics with security
agencies.”
The human rights crusader, however, disagreed with the Appeal Court ruling that
soldiers should not be deployed for the conduct of elections.
Odinkalu said the rate of insecurity was too high to be left in the hands of
policemen.
He, however, argued that soldiers must remain professional.
He said, “Bombs are going off in different Nigerian cities and as I speak to you,
bombs have gone off in about 24 states and territories in Nigeria over the past
three years. There are only two states in northern Nigeria in which bombs have
not killed people: Kwara and Kebbi states.
“Given that, you realise that on the day of the elections, you have to understand
that it is possible that voters will be attacked by the same people throwing
bombs. Because of that, you have to look at this option (use of soldiers).”