US Congress Expresses Concern Over Repression Of Opponents By Buhari/APC-led Government

…As UK Lords inquire on Leah Sharibu as she marks 10months in captivity

BY AMOS DUNIA, ABUJA – The subcommittee of the US Congress for Africa, Human Rights, Global Health and International Organizations has queried the US government on its responses to reports of repression of opponents by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

This is just as USAID announced that 3000 domestic election observers would be deployed to Nigeria for the 2019 elections.

During a hearing on Nigeria entitled, “Nigeria at a Crossroads: The Upcoming Elections” held on December 13, 2018, the Chairman Representative Chris Smith cited reports in the Vanguard and Premium Times pertaining to reported freezing of the Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for the 2019 elections, Mr. Peter Obi’s bank accounts as well as a raid on the residences of the sons of the Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

Specifically, Chairman Chris Smith informed the top diplomat for Africa, Assistant Secretary of State Ambassador Tobir Nagy that the subcommittee was in possession of a memo by the Nigerian embassy targeting a human rights lawyer for testifying before them.

Concerned at the apparent repression of “opponents” of the Buhari regime, the Chairman asked the representative of the Trump administration whether the US government was engaging Nigeria on these violations of citizens’ rights just for holding “contrary” views.

The Assistant Secretary of State for Africa responded that the US embassy in Nigeria was quite “concerned” and robustly engaged on such rights violations and election malpractice as just witnessed in Osun State and gave kudos to the US Ambassador Symmington, whom he was impressed with during his recent visit to Nigeria last month.

Following the hearing, Washington-based Nigerian human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe, who was the target of the Nigerian embassy referenced by the Chairman submitted a letter to the State Department attaching the incriminating exhibit indicting the Nigerian embassy in Washington of attempting to subvert the US Congress by witness intimidation and retaliation.

In the letter Ogebe called for the revocation of the diplomatic immunity of the Nigerian diplomats involved in threatening his passport and their prosecution by the US government for violations of American law.

In a related development, Ogebe in a letter to the Nigeria President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who was present in the Congress during the hearing, called on him to hold the Nigerian government accountable for what he described as the “unconstitutional, undiplomatic and uncivilized conduct”.

Ogebe requested the senate to hold a hearing on the legality of the Nigerian government’s attempt to revoke a citizen’s passport for exercising his constitutional freedom of speech.

Ogebe also called on the Senate President to ensure the passage of the electoral reforms to free Nigerians from slavery to riggers just as previous senates had historically aborted the third term agenda and thwarted the cabal during Yar’Adua’s illness.

Also during question and answers, both the Assistant Secretary of State and the Deputy Administrator of USAID conceded that more farmers had been killed in the herder violence than herdsmen. This was in response to Congressman Garret who lamented the continuing atrocities in Nigeria and questioned why the world had “moved on to the next hashtag” when the Chibok girls were still missing.