Election Monitors Petition Buhari, Accuse Police Minister of Sokoto Poll Manipulation, Allege Plot to Rig Supplementary Election

The Network for Domestic Election Monitors (NDEM), Sokoto State chapter, has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari accusing the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, of allegedly abusing his office and ensuring the manipulation of the February and March general elections, through police deployment and arrest of opposition agents.

It cited the absence of police personnel at polling units during the the Presidential and National Assembly elections, leading to hijack of the process by thugs, and harassment and detention of opposition leaders by the police.

In a petition dated April 6, 2023, signed by the NDEM representative in Sokoto, Prof Sani Abubakar Yar Sakke, and addressed to President Buhari, the group alleged that Dingyadi used his office to ensure “the conspicuous absence of the Police from polling units during the Presidential and National Assembly elections which resulted in unprecedented political violence and thuggery never seen in the state.

The petition which was copied the Chief Justice of Nigeria, INEC chairman, National.Security Adviser, Inspector General of Police and Chief of Army Staff, among others, said, “We recall times without number your pronouncements directing the security services to steer clear of partisan politics and avoid being used by any person or group of persons for political purposes.”

The petition read: “It is indeed sobering to chronicle the elections in Sokoto State where all the fears raised in our previous letter have been rudely confirmed.

“Our grounds for the rejection of appointment of the Minister of Police Affairs Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi as the Director General of a Party’s campaign Council in the State have now been sadly and unfortunately justified.

“Minister Dingyadi as the overseeing minister of Police Affairs in the country allegedly used his office to ensure the following: Plot to ensure the conspicuous absence of the Police from polling units during the Presidential and National Assembly elections which resulted in unprecedented political violence and thuggery never seen in the state. As a result, over 470 polling units with a total of over 300,000 registered voters were disenfranchised and unable to cast their votes leading to inconclusive election for all the National Assembly elections in the State.

“This is unheard of in this country, and even more so given the fact that your cabinet minister of Police Affairs is clearly responsible for this unwholesome development, in spite of your warning.

“The assignment and deployment of Police officers to all his Party leaders and Agents, who used them to harass and assault all other political party leadership across the state. Many opposition party leaders were violently withdrawn from their polling units and detained at various police posts across the state to pave the way for manipulation of election results.”

It added that the alleged use of police by the minister to manipulate the electoral process had created anxiety across the ahead of the April 15 supplementary election and called on President Buhari to intervene and save the situation.

“Your Excellency against the background of the re-scheduled supplementary elections in the state on Saturday 15th April, 2023 people in the state are now justifiably worried that the same scenario is about to play out again. In this context, the level of preparations and mobilization by all the political parties in the state has created a very wild and tense atmosphere requiring the immediate and direct intervention of the Commander-in-Chief to save the situation,” NDEM said.