A Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA), yesterday said it was withdrawing its recent endorsement of the Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi as best suited for Senate President.
HURIWA in a statement issued by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the group’s withdrawal was anchored on the widespread electoral violence recorded before and during the 2023 general elections in the home state of the governor and the Senator-Elect for Ebonyi South Senatorial District in the incoming 10th National Assembly.
HURIWA maintained that it is still in support that the Senate Presidency being zoned to the South-East but categorically said Umahi should not be considered.
The group said the governor was allegedly complicit in working in cahoots with the security agencies and the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state to terrorize opposition parties before and during the general elections.
The group described as anti-democratic tendencies in open display in Ebonyi and the heightened levels of threats to the lives of political opposition politicians in Ebonyi State, maintaining that the rights of all politicians should be respected irrespective of affiliations.
The group also condemned the use of the state-owned security outfit, Ebubeagu, to intimidate political opponents of Umahi, whose eight-year tenure as governor ends on May 29.
HURIWA’s Onwubiko said: “We have just done an on-the-spot assessment of the conduct of the just-ended polls in Ebonyi State and we have gathered evidence of pervasive, massive violence and bloodshed before, during and after the gubernatorial and presidential elections.
“From detailed information, we can emphatically state that the Ebonyi State Governor must be held accountable for so much of this violence which was unleashed by armed goons operating as state-funded mercenaries and vigilantes.
“In view of this overwhelming evidence of violence before, during and after the election we regret to withdraw our recent endorsement of the Ebonyi governor as best suited for Senate President. In fact we are making plans to drag the governor to the UK government to ask for the travel ban.
“We must candidly admit that we were misled by a respected Nigerian initially to make the first endorsement but we have since come face to face with empirical evidence of violence during that election and so we hereby withdraw that endorsement that was done in the error of judgment.”
Adding: “HURIWA said it is on record that Umahi, out of intolerance for political opponents in the state, directed the police and other security agencies to withdraw orderlies and security details from candidates of political parties, directors-general party officials other than the APC.”
The group said the governor also spewed politically intolerant utterances before February 25 while also reiterating for previous incriminating remakes he made in the past on other media outlets, when he said there is no other political party in Ebonyi apart from APC and told opponents to shut up.
Cases abound of political intolerance in Ebonyi by state-sponsored police and Ebubeage officers. The police once dispersed Peter Obi’s supporters during a solidarity march in Abakaliki in mid-September. The Labour Party candidate for the Oyi constituency at the Anambra State House of Assembly, Mr Obinna Okafor, once accused Umahi, of sponsoring the “attack” carried out on the supporters of Peter Obi.
In January, an All Progressives Grand Alliance supporter in Ebonyi State, Amobi Ujar was allegedly framed up and beaten to a pulp by members of the Ebubeagu Security Outfit in Enugu.
Abakiliki-based journalists like Godfrey Chikwere, Peter Okutu, and Agwu Chijioke, amongst others, were all arrested and victimized by the governor using state-sponsored security agencies.
Labour Party candidate for the Ebonyi South District, Linus Okorie, has been repeatedly victimized, abducted, arrested and remanded through state-sponsored security agents.
