There is fear over 2015 polls, says NHRC chief

There is fear over 2015 polls, says NHRC chief

THE Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Bem Angwe, said yesterday that there was growing apprehension among Nigerians about whether or not elections will hold next year.
Angwe, who cited the problem of insecurity as the major cause of the general fear, noted that it was worrisome that the apprehension has persisted despite assurances by the Federal Government.
Angwe spoke at the NHRC headquarters in Abuja, while receiving a delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by former Ghanaian President, John Kufuor.
His words: “On the eve of the 2015 elections, there are vibrations across the country. There are fears, there are apprehensions.
“Despite the assurances of the electoral body and the Federal Government, the fears still exist.
“Your Excellency, being one of the leaders in the West Africa, we are sure that you are aware of these security challenges that face Nigeria today.
“The activities of the insurgent groups threaten the forthcoming general elections in Nigeria.
“Questions are being asked on daily basis whether Nigeria will conduct elections in some states that today are under emergency rule or where there is a lot of security challenges”.
He said his commission was working to end electoral impunity by ensuring that electoral offenders were prosecuted according to existing laws.
Angwe said NHRC was planning to make public, names of Nigerians indicted for electoral offences, and whose prosecution the commission has recommended to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).
The commission released a list of similar names earlier this year and recommended to the AGF to prosecute them.
The AGF failed to act on the NHRC list and some of those, whose names were contained in the list, have sued the commission.
“In some few weeks to come, the commission is still going to release another set of persons, who were specifically indicted in the 2011 general elections to have committed various election offences for prosecution.”
He said the law could only be effective when the sanction attached to it was being enforced.
Kuffor said his delegation was in the country for a pre-election assessment of the nation’s preparedness for next year’s elections.
He said the delegation was earlier at the ECOWAS secretariat in Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party, the United Nation Development Programme and the Independent National Electoral Commission as part of its assessment tour.
Kufuor added that his delegation was at the NHRC to learn from its activities, particularly in the areas of human rights in order to “to compose a report on the situation on the ground in Nigeria and the preparedness of the nation for the election of the presidency and the legislature.”
He cautioned Nigerian authorities against erecting obstacles capable of hampering the people in the exercise of their rights, noting that respect for human rights forms the pillar of democratic governance.