Human Rights Abuse in Benue State, Nigeria
- af: Friends of Steve Ugbah
- mottagare: Amnesty International, Global Community, Human Rights Watch, & US Government,
You are a stakeholder in the global democracy project and you have the ability to add your voice to the evolving situation in Benue State, Nigeria. This story involves human rights abuse in Benue State, Nigeria, and it is our belief that world attention should focus on these abuses to bring an end to them. If democracy is our purported position on governance, it should go beyond words and move into action.
The story revolves around our friend, colleague and respected academic, Professor Steven Torkumah Ugbah and others. Steve took a leave of absence from his job as a tenured full professor to run for the office of governor of his home state, Benue State, Nigeria. He ran on the platform of (for the first time a viable opposition political party), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Steve, has for many years, contributed to his state through scholarships awarded to young people and donation of books to local schools. Steve made the decision to run for office after he saw the lack of development of his state, a place where government employees are not paid for months, roads are impassable and health care is practically non-existent for the average citizen. So, when his people asked him to come home and run for office, Steve decided that he must. Initially, his wife and his friends discouraged him, because they were concerned one person could not make a difference in Nigeria - a volatile environment where elections are often manipulated and opponents and their supporters eliminated using state apparatus.
Steve ran against the incumbent governor, Gabriel Suswam, on April 26, 2011. While all gubernatorial election results were announced less than 24 hours; that of Benue State was not announced for more than 48 hours. Prior to the announcement, there were corroborated reports that the ruling party supporters and officials snatched ballot boxes; some were caught thumb printing ballots (thanks to official and unofficial election observers who captured the fraud with their cell phone cameras). These stories were well documented in the media. In spite of all the evidence of cheating, the election returning officer declared the incumbent governor as winner. In that charged atmosphere, Steve's supporters were ready to stage a massive protest, but he made a public plea to his them not to take the laws into their hands. Rather, he assured them that he (Steve) would take legal steps to force a recount and most importantly, a review of the massive election fraud (of ballot box snatching and ballot box stuffing).
Dangerous development
Following the election, Professor Ugbah filed an official complaint with an election review panel set up by the federal government . In the meantime, the situation has taken a dangerous turn that most people from third world countries or countries led by dictators can understand and relate to (the Middle East and North Africa present excellent examples). The top echelon of the ACN has been hunted like prey in Benue State. The The Benue ACN director of media, Mr. Charles Ayede was assassinated, and the chief of security for the campaign was seriously injured as they traveled in a convoy to a funeral. The real target was Steve and this is the second attempt on his life. The first attempt was a foiled plan to kidnap and kill him. The would-be kidnappers were apprehended. They were charged and subsequently released on a pittance of a bail, suggesting almost that they go back and finish the job. Incidentally, the magistrate who presided over the case happens to be the wife of a chieftain of the ruling party.
It is important to note that for every threat or act of violence that have occurred to either Steve or the supporters of his campaign, each has been reported to police and none has been investigated. Suspects have not been identified, and when they have been identified, they have been released on a very low bail.
Steve has appealed to the Inspector General of Nigerian Police, Alhaji Hafiz Ringim, indicating concerns about his safety and that of his campaign team, but the appeal met no action. Instead, the police took quick action when Suswam claimed that by calling for an investigation of the killings of ACN supporters, Steve was inciting violence in Benue State.
On May 23, 2011, the Nigerian Security Services invited Steve and the leaders of ACN for questioning in response to a press conference Steve gave decrying the spate of targeted killings and intimidation of both he and his supporters in Benue State. Steve was detained along with 15 others, including his chief of security, Mr. Adaa Maagbe, who was the lone passenger in the vehicle that the assassinated media adviser, late Mr. Charles Ayede, was riding in, as well as a 14-year old boy. While he has been released on bail, the threat to his life, and those of his supporters have not abated.
The State government, police, and indeed the national police have come out to publicly defend Suswam. They claim the assassination of Ayede, the attempted assassination of Mr. Maagbe, and that of Steve are all armed robbery incidents. One wonders how it could be armed robbery when the police never investigated the case; how can it be armed robbery if valuables in the car were not taken?
As friends of Steve in the Diaspora, we are very concerned for his life and safety and those of his campaign team, and take all threats by the government and its supporters very seriously. Through this petition, we wish to:
Some who read this may say Benue State is not in their backyard, but when we collectively shun atrocities anywhere in the world, we subconsciously support illiberal democracies everywhere in the world.
Please join our efforts to stamp out illiberal democracy in Benue State, Nigeria; most importantly, to uphold fundamental human rights of the people of Benue State.
As Martin Luther King, Junior, said, Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
Skriv underSkriv underThe story revolves around our friend, colleague and respected academic, Professor Steven Torkumah Ugbah and others. Steve took a leave of absence from his job as a tenured full professor to run for the office of governor of his home state, Benue State, Nigeria. He ran on the platform of (for the first time a viable opposition political party), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Steve, has for many years, contributed to his state through scholarships awarded to young people and donation of books to local schools. Steve made the decision to run for office after he saw the lack of development of his state, a place where government employees are not paid for months, roads are impassable and health care is practically non-existent for the average citizen. So, when his people asked him to come home and run for office, Steve decided that he must. Initially, his wife and his friends discouraged him, because they were concerned one person could not make a difference in Nigeria - a volatile environment where elections are often manipulated and opponents and their supporters eliminated using state apparatus.
Steve ran against the incumbent governor, Gabriel Suswam, on April 26, 2011. While all gubernatorial election results were announced less than 24 hours; that of Benue State was not announced for more than 48 hours. Prior to the announcement, there were corroborated reports that the ruling party supporters and officials snatched ballot boxes; some were caught thumb printing ballots (thanks to official and unofficial election observers who captured the fraud with their cell phone cameras). These stories were well documented in the media. In spite of all the evidence of cheating, the election returning officer declared the incumbent governor as winner. In that charged atmosphere, Steve's supporters were ready to stage a massive protest, but he made a public plea to his them not to take the laws into their hands. Rather, he assured them that he (Steve) would take legal steps to force a recount and most importantly, a review of the massive election fraud (of ballot box snatching and ballot box stuffing).
Dangerous development
Following the election, Professor Ugbah filed an official complaint with an election review panel set up by the federal government . In the meantime, the situation has taken a dangerous turn that most people from third world countries or countries led by dictators can understand and relate to (the Middle East and North Africa present excellent examples). The top echelon of the ACN has been hunted like prey in Benue State. The The Benue ACN director of media, Mr. Charles Ayede was assassinated, and the chief of security for the campaign was seriously injured as they traveled in a convoy to a funeral. The real target was Steve and this is the second attempt on his life. The first attempt was a foiled plan to kidnap and kill him. The would-be kidnappers were apprehended. They were charged and subsequently released on a pittance of a bail, suggesting almost that they go back and finish the job. Incidentally, the magistrate who presided over the case happens to be the wife of a chieftain of the ruling party.
It is important to note that for every threat or act of violence that have occurred to either Steve or the supporters of his campaign, each has been reported to police and none has been investigated. Suspects have not been identified, and when they have been identified, they have been released on a very low bail.
Steve has appealed to the Inspector General of Nigerian Police, Alhaji Hafiz Ringim, indicating concerns about his safety and that of his campaign team, but the appeal met no action. Instead, the police took quick action when Suswam claimed that by calling for an investigation of the killings of ACN supporters, Steve was inciting violence in Benue State.
On May 23, 2011, the Nigerian Security Services invited Steve and the leaders of ACN for questioning in response to a press conference Steve gave decrying the spate of targeted killings and intimidation of both he and his supporters in Benue State. Steve was detained along with 15 others, including his chief of security, Mr. Adaa Maagbe, who was the lone passenger in the vehicle that the assassinated media adviser, late Mr. Charles Ayede, was riding in, as well as a 14-year old boy. While he has been released on bail, the threat to his life, and those of his supporters have not abated.
The State government, police, and indeed the national police have come out to publicly defend Suswam. They claim the assassination of Ayede, the attempted assassination of Mr. Maagbe, and that of Steve are all armed robbery incidents. One wonders how it could be armed robbery when the police never investigated the case; how can it be armed robbery if valuables in the car were not taken?
As friends of Steve in the Diaspora, we are very concerned for his life and safety and those of his campaign team, and take all threats by the government and its supporters very seriously. Through this petition, we wish to:
- bring international attention to the horrors perpetrated by Benue State government against an opposition party, and indeed against its own people;
- demand that President Goodluck Jonathan, who ran a campaign based on transparency and due process for all, institute an independent body to investigate the ongoing atrocities in Benue State;
- call on the international community especially the U.S., to denounce in the strongest terms the ongoing human rights abuses in Benue State, Nigeria.
Some who read this may say Benue State is not in their backyard, but when we collectively shun atrocities anywhere in the world, we subconsciously support illiberal democracies everywhere in the world.
Please join our efforts to stamp out illiberal democracy in Benue State, Nigeria; most importantly, to uphold fundamental human rights of the people of Benue State.
As Martin Luther King, Junior, said, Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
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