The pre and post-election violence investigative panel set up by President Jonathan to look into the violence that trailed his election took a fascinating twist today in Uyo, as a known PDP loyalist criticized the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) before the panel for intolerance.
The pre and post-election violence investigative panel set up by President Jonathan to look into the violence that trailed his election took a fascinating twist today in Uyo, as a known PDP loyalist criticized the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) before the panel for intolerance.
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Testifying in the Akwa Ibom State capital today, Emmanuel Jack, a witness and Administrative Secretary in the Goodluck/Sambo Campaign Office, said that the intolerance of opposition parties by the ruling party was the cause of pre-and-post election violence in the state on March 22. He pointed out that whenever the other political parties would have a campaign, there would be clashes with the PDP because of its intolerance.
Mr. Jack, however, did not name any culprits. He said he did not know the group that caused the wanton damage during the mayhem in Ikot Ekpene and Uyo, but said he saw bullets flying from every direction and people scampering for safety.
He stated that the weapons used in the mayhem were sophisticated and urged the federal government to mop up such weapons as their owners could hide them for later use.
He said that about 14 people may have been killed in the fracas. But when analyzing his figures from the three local governments, they were as follows: Mkpan Enin, eight; Uyo, four; and Ikot Ekpene, seven. Those numbers total 19.
He also estimated the losses incurred by the GoodLuck/Sambo Campaign Organisation in the mayhem to be about N420m, including a house and its furnishings and fixtures, and his law books.
Mr. Jack called on the federal government to reduce the salaries of political office holders, saying that it was a factor responsible for the politicians prosecuting politics as a do-or-die affair.
Asked to produce evidence of his claims, Mr. Jack responded, “I did not come with any document since I got the (invitation) late last night.”
Also testifying, a legal practitioner of Fortune Group of Schools, Uyo, Mr. Zaccheus Emmanuel, presented a memorandum to the commission. He did not name those who were responsible for the burning of the school, and he wondered what their motives were. “The school is located away from the PDP secretariat even off Abak Road,” he said. “It means the action was premeditated.”
A member of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr. Borngreat Thompson, told the commission that he was the only person that came out alive from the vehicle in which he had travelled to Ikot Ekpene.
“When we were heading to Ikot Ekpene, we passed some streets down to the primary school where we had our campaign. We saw some people from the other street, advancing, carrying with them cutlasses, while some began to open fire.
He said that they were quickly overtaken by the assailants and they had to run for dear life. A journalist, he said, was beheaded in his presence.
“An Okada man and his passenger were crushed by a truck they tried to use to block us,” he continued. “Some of our members, who ran into bush and other people houses, could not be found up to the present time. We believe they might have been killed by the assailants,” Thompson said.
Asked about the number of people that might have been killed during the fracas, Thompson gave the figure as 20 or above, but less than 40.
The Pre and Post Election Violence Commission of inquiry was set up by President Goodluck Jonathan on May 11, to look into the cause of the pre-election violence that occurred in Akwa Ibom on March 22, find out the sources of the weapons used, and make recommendations to government.
The chairman of the sub-committee in charge of Akwa Ibom, Nasarawa and Niger states is Justice Samson Uwaifo. It has Mr William Ibrahim as secretary.
Justice Uwaifo said that they had earlier visited the venue where the ACN had had their campaign rally at Ikot Ekpene on that eventful day; Fortune Group of Schools; and the Goodluck/Sambo Campaign Office on Abak Road.
He appealed to anybody who has evidence that would help the commission to feel free to come and testify, adding that they must be willing to give accurate and truthful information that would help the commission in establishing the truth about what happened.
One of the problems of the investigation is that during the electoral campaigns, the government of Mr. Jonathan was openly partisan, persistently taking sides with the state government of Governor Akpabio, which was one of the main sponsors of Jonathan’s presidential campaign. It would be recalled, for instance, that following the mayhem, only members of the ACN and the ACN governorship candidate were hunted down and thrown behind bars for prosecution. Mr. Jonathan would go ahead to give a shoot-at-sight order during the election campaign in Akwa Ibom that ACN members feared was aimed at them.
“How objective this panel can be, especially in States like Akwa Ibom, remains to be seen,” an analyst told SaharaReporters today in Lagos. “Will they send to the President a report blaming him and his party, or will they simply dump the blame on everyone else and move on?”
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