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One America, Two Nations; By Richard Haas

<> on August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The situation in the US today resembles nothing so much as the United Nations Security Council. Many agree the current system is deeply flawed and unrepresentative, but it is impossible to reach consensus on reform, because any potential fix would benefit some and hurt others.

NEW YORK – As I write this, officials across the United States continue to count votes in the 2020 US presidential election. When tallies are finalized, recounts and legal challenges are sure to follow. This is to be expected in a hotly contested election that generated record turnout.

Only citizens may vote for the US president, but the choice affects people everywhere. If it is too soon to be certain of the results, it is not premature to explore what the election reveals about the world’s most powerful country.

On the positive side, the United States remains a robust democracy. Voter participation was high, despite the physical constraints linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. The process appears to be unfolding as designed. Violence has been minimal. Courts are investigating what seem to have been politically motivated decisions by the US Postal Service to impede the delivery of ballots from areas expected to vote mostly Democratic. President Donald Trump’s unwarranted declaration of victory Tuesday evening gained little traction, while his calls to stop the counting (at least in those states where he leads) appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

What is concerning, however, is that the US electorate remains so deeply divided. Voters were near-equally split between the two candidates. Not surprisingly, this division is likely to lead to divided government. If current trends continue, Democrats will win the White House and retain control of the House of Representatives, while Republicans will keep control of the Senate. Governorships and state legislatures are near evenly split between the two parties (Republicans hold a slight advantage).

The “blue wave” anticipated by Democrats did not materialize. Joe Biden will probably win the popular vote by a wide margin – some four or five million out of nearly 160 million votes cast. But Republicans held onto seats in the Senate that many predicted would flip to the Democrats, who actually lost seats in the House. There was no firm mandate, no political realignment.

Trump polled extremely well, receiving five million more votes than he did in 2016 – the second-most votes of any presidential candidate in US history, and more than any previous winner. What makes this particularly noteworthy is that it occurred against the backdrop of a record-high 100,000 new daily COVID-19 cases and more than 1,000 deaths. Just when the consequences of his administration’s mishandling of the pandemic had become most severe, nearly half the electorate turned out to support him.

Even if Trump loses, which seems likely, he will continue to have a powerful voice, especially if he remains in the public eye (which also seems likely). Even if he himself does not run, he will probably have considerable influence in choosing the Republican Party’s nominee in the next presidential election in 2024. The GOP will be a far cry from the party of Presidents George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan. Trumpism – a modern-day American populism – will remain a powerful force.

Trump, no surprise, has done his best to salt the earth and delegitimise the election results, charging fraud despite his inability to produce any evidence. Many of his supporters will refuse to accept the legitimacy of a Biden presidency. It is quite possible that Trump will never concede the race, much less attend the swearing in of his successor. To paraphrase Will Rogers, Trump has never encountered a norm he didn’t break.

Americans increasingly dwell in separate worlds. They have sorted themselves into communities and regions with those of similar views. Each world tends to watch its own cable television channels, listen to its own radio stations and podcasts, and visit its own websites. And the absence of a national civics curriculum facilitates sorting across generations.

What is worth highlighting is that the country’s division is not for the most part along economic lines. People of all classes voted for both candidates, and demographic, gender, and racial voting patterns were not as one-sided as many predicted. Where they differed mainly concerned remedies.

Educational levels are clearly an indicator of political orientation, as is geography, with Republican voters more likely to live in outer suburbs and rural regions and Democrats in metropolitan areas. Culture, though, may account for more in American politics than anything else. For the record, foreign policy did not seem to have mattered much in the campaign, except to mobilize specific constituencies, such as South Florida’s large Cuban and Venezuelan communities.

Against this backdrop, it will be difficult to build support for significant change to how presidents are elected or how the government operates. The situation resembles nothing so much as the United Nations Security Council. Many agree the current system is deeply flawed and unrepresentative, but it is impossible to reach consensus on reform, because any potential fix would benefit some and hurt others. Not surprisingly, those who stand to lose from change resist it.

This will make governing difficult. Much will depend on the calculations of Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and his ability and willingness to work with a President Biden. Working together would also require Biden to compromise, something sure to be resisted by the more ideological members of his own party.

Democrats were hoping for a stinging repudiation of Trump and everything he embodies. They didn’t get it. Republicans sought an election that validated Trump. That, too, didn’t happen. Instead, what the election revealed is one country and two nations. They will have to coexist; whether they can work together remains to be seen. (Project Syndicate)

•Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations, previously served as Director of Policy Planning for the US State Department (2001-2003), and was President George W. Bush’s special envoy to Northern Ireland and Coordinator for the Future of Afghanistan. He is the author of The World: A Brief Introduction (Penguin Press, 2020).

Why Trump cries electoral fraud, By Raj Persaud

Research suggests that US President Donald Trump’s claims of fraud in the 2020 election could be a psychological strategy, deftly executed by a master manipulator. If so, the president may be paving the way to persuading large numbers of Americans to reject the legitimacy of his defeat.

LONDON – US President Donald Trump, perhaps unsurprisingly, has alleged fraud in the November 3 presidential election, without offering what anyone would consider real evidence, other than the fact that votes for his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, keep turning up in states where Trump initially led in the count. The president has already announced that he intends to take the election to the US Supreme Court, despite the fact that at the time of his statement, millions of votes in numerous states were still to be counted.

Yet Trump’s fraud claims could be part of a psychological strategy, deftly executed by a master manipulator. If so, the president may be paving the way to persuading large numbers of Americans to reject the legitimacy of his defeat.

A unique scientific study conducted the day before and the morning of the 2016 US presidential election, probing attitude changes in 1,000 US voting-age adults, found that exposure to conspiratorial rhetoric about election interference produced a profound psychological effect. In particular, it led to significantly heightened negative emotions (anxiety and anger), and also undermined support for democratic institutions.

The study, recently published in the academic journal Research & Politics, found that those exposed to conspiracy theories regarding election-rigging were less willing to accept the results of an election, and became less inclined to concede the outcome when the result threatened their partisan goals. Its authors, Bethany Albertson and Kimberly Guiler of the University of Texas at Austin, argue that vote-rigging allegations strike at the very foundations of democracy. For example, they may render the public doubtful as to whether non-violent transfers of national authority should follow from a rigged vote.

Moreover, the study contends that political conspiracy theories may have ominous, extensive, and long-lasting consequences, such as reducing political participation, trust in government, confidence in elections, and faith in democracy. Vote-rigging stories immediately after an election also can profoundly affect voters’ mental state. Besides becoming angrier and more anxious, voters in the study also reacted with increased sadness and disgust, and both Democrats and Republicans reported feeling less enthusiastic and less hopeful.

The authors suggest that the deep emotional and psychological effects they uncovered might also reflect the fact that people were on edge on election day, in a way that made both groups of partisans receptive to conspiratorial rhetoric. They conclude that Americans are vulnerable to being affected significantly by election-rigging allegations.

Throughout his presidency and the two election campaigns he has now waged, Trump has time and again demonstrated a better feel for his electorate’s mental state than the US intelligentsia and chattering classes have. The latter groups might dismiss Trump’s fraud allegations as merely the childish reactions of a sore loser, but there is a psychological method to his seemingly mad claims.

Another recent study published in Political Research Quarterly examined why so many Americans are prone to believe that electoral fraud exists. The study’s authors, led by political scientists Jack Edelson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Joseph Uscinski of the University of Miami, suggested that more deeply embedded conspiratorial thinking may be to blame. They point to a strong link between feelings of powerlessness and conspiracy paranoia. Supporters of the losing side in an election are therefore more likely to suspect scams. US Republicans appear especially prone to believing that people are casting votes they should not, whereas Democrats are more concerned about being disenfranchised.

After Republican challenger Mitt Romney’s defeat in the 2012 US presidential election, the authors note, 49% of Republicans believed that a Democratic activist group had stolen the election for President Barack Obama (only 6% of Democrats believed this). Likewise, following the 2000 presidential election, 31% of Democrats believed that George W. Bush had stolen the presidency (only 3% of Republicans agreed). And 30% of Democrats stated that they did not consider Bush a “legitimate president.”

But the authors argue that some measures aimed at combating perceptions of vote-rigging in the United States, such as stricter voter-identification laws upheld by the Supreme Court, could actually make things worse. Tightening voter-ID requirements leads to yet more conspiracy theories of election-rigging through vote suppression.

Finally, the authors cite a previous study of letters to the editor of the New York Times from 1890 to 2010, which reveals that disgruntled losers call nearly every US presidential election into question. Trump’s claim of fraud in the 2020 election has taken this practice to a new and potentially dangerous level, with unpredictable psychological and political consequences.

Narcissists, convinced of their superiority, can never accept losing in any contest. The threat to their ego is too catastrophic. In their eyes, no one can ever beat them fair and square. Accusations of cheating thus make perfect psychological sense. It protects the ego from the threat that losing implies. But followers may not appreciate a leader’s psychological vulnerability. Supporters and leaders can then forge a bond in their denial of an emotionally distressing result.

Biden’s strategy of passive “wait and see” may be psychologically naive, reflecting a failure to grasp the emotional power of the subconscious forces being unleashed against him. A psychiatrist might advise stronger engagement with the mental processes behind Trump’s vote-rigging claims, as opposed to dismissing them. It follows that Biden’s team should have anticipated and been more prepared – politically, not just legally – for Trump’s moves.

History has shown time and again that when narcissism, emotional distress, and denial combine and go on the march, democracy is in danger of being trampled. (Project Syndicate)

•Raj Persaud, a London-based psychiatrist, is the co-author, with Peter Bruggen, of The Street-wise Guide to Getting the Best Mental Health Care and the author of the forthcoming book The Mental Vaccine for COVID-19 – A Streetwise Person’s Guide.

Donald Trump, Made in America; By Nina L. Khrushcheva

Regardless of the final outcome, the 2020 US presidential election has confirmed that nearly half the electorate still prefers a politics of division and hatred to one of decency and unity. That is not Russia’s fault – and never was.

MOSCOW – The 2020 US presidential election challenges – indeed, it should lay to rest – the popular notion that US President Donald Trump is a lackey of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Even if Trump loses, his performance – receiving millions more votes than he did in 2016 – suggests that it is he who is the master of propaganda, and that Putin is the one who should be taking notes. In fact, Trump’s campaign of lies could well become the new template for how failing democracies (and autocracies posing as democracies) choose their leaders in the twenty-first century.

There is no denying Trump’s mastery of social media, where he issues a predictable stream of semi-coherent yet emotion-packed rhetoric to cast doubt on established truths while smearing his opponents and puffing himself up. This digital black magic – which leading social-media platforms, as well as Fox News, duly amplify in the interest of profit – has become the core element of Trump’s style of “leadership.” As Putin’s own popularity continues to decline, he may well try to mimic it.

Beyond Trump’s signature methods of self-aggrandisement and democratic subterfuge is his unmatched use of propaganda to avoid any and all forms of accountability. To be sure, the world’s other autocrats are hardly novices when it comes to manipulating public opinion. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan uses holograms to appear, Allah-like, at multiple rallies simultaneously. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worn bespoke jackets in which the pinstripes spell out his full name. And everyone is now familiar with Putin’s bare-chested horseback photo-ops.

Trump, however, has put all these efforts to shame with his approach to propaganda in its contemporary, all-encompassing “post-truth” form. He has both benefited from and aided a burgeoning political culture in which any debate, conversation, or event is framed by emotional appeals and completely disconnected from objective information. There is no wizard hiding behind the curtain here. Trump is a magician standing center stage, and just under half of American voters like what they see, or prefer the illusion to reality.

Consider Trump’s successful efforts to drive down Hispanic support for Joe Biden. In Florida, Trump managed to delude a portion of the Latino population (as he had done previously with poor whites) that he is their only economic hope. Identifying gaps between the progressive and center left of the Democratic coalition, the Trump campaign targeted Dade County’s large population of Cuban and Venezuelan émigrés with grim depictions of Biden as a Trojan horse for “socialism,” tapping into deep-seated hatred of the regimes in Havana and Caracas.

Though Biden still carried the bulk of Hispanic voters in the state, Trump succeeded in convincing a consequential segment that he and he alone would advocate for Cuban and Venezuelan freedom. Citing the Obama administration’s policy of rapprochement with Cuba, Trump’s campaign suggested that Biden would betray Cuban-Americans by rewarding the pariah island.

More broadly, Trump has masterfully stoked anger and resentment within the white population – particularly those without a college degree – often tweeting statements that look a lot like incitements to violence against African-Americans, Democratic politicians, and election officials. By constantly “saying the quiet part out loud,” he has given millions of white Americans a license to act on their most racist and extreme impulses.

Trump has also freed his supporters from the burden of considering scientific facts, or even rational thought. Thanks to the example Trump set, only in the United States is there any doubt about the need for face masks and social distancing during a pandemic. Only in America is taking necessary precautions to protect oneself and one’s neighbors seen as a sign of weakness or “socialism.” The virus is both a “hoax” and a genuine threat for which China alone bears responsibility. Never mind that the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic has been worse than that of any other government on the planet, leading to almost 240,000 deaths, and counting.

Of course, all politicians are tempted to blame others for their failures. The Soviet Union used to attribute its obvious decline on its citizens’ corrupt desire for American jeans and jazz. Instead of addressing their own shortcomings after the 2016 election, the Democrats chose to place all the blame for Hillary Clinton’s loss on Putin and Russian election interference. But the US did not destroy the Soviet Union; the Soviet system destroyed itself. And the Kremlin did not elect Trump; American voters did.

The 2020 vote tally makes this basic fact clearer than ever. Despite all the predictions of a “blue wave” that would crush Trump’s reign of corruption, mendacity, and incompetence, the margins in battleground states have been razor thin, and his Republican enablers in Congress survived – and even made gains in the House of Representatives. It turns out that almost half of the American public favors Trump’s divisive, anti-democratic style to Biden’s own appeals to competence, experience, and decency.

Writing about America in 1986, the French linguistic philosopher Jean Baudrillard described a kind of “hyperreality” in which myth, performance, and simulation becomes indistinguishable from the real world. Trump’s fanciful, nostalgic vision of making America “great again” relies on precisely this sort of epistemic collapse. Trump is the king of “post-truth” hyperreality, conjuring a world in which his supporters are the victims of various conspiracies and evil designs on their way of life, from which only Trump can save them.

Everyone has dark desires, of course, but most of us would never actually act on them. Such restraint is arguably the defining feature of a civilized person. But Trump has now convinced tens of millions of Americans to embrace their inner demons – truth, decency, and democracy be damned. Nihilism has descended on the republic, and Americans have no one to blame but themselves.

As we await the results of the US presidential election, we are again reminded of the uncertainty and fear that pervade the current era. Under such circumstances, Project Syndicate’s mission – delivering the highest-quality commentary on the world’s most pressing issues to as wide an audience as possible – is more important than ever. We remain committed to fulfilling it.

•Nina L. Khrushcheva, Professor of International Affairs at The New School, is a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute and the co-author (with Jeffrey Tayler), most recently, of In Putin’s Footsteps: Searching for the Soul of an Empire Across Russia’s Eleven Time Zones.

IGP Adamu insists social media was used to escalate #Endsars protest

The Inspector-General of Police, Muhammad Abubakar has insisted that the social media was the greatest weapon used to escalate the #Endsars protest across the country.

Abubakar said this on Thursday in Owerri during his visit to Gov. Hope Uzodinma of Imo.

The visit was aimed at ascertaining the level of damages done to both public and private facilities during the peaceful EndSARS protest hijacked by hoodlums to loot and cause civil unrest in the society.

He advised Nigerians not to allow the country to pass through the experience it had during the protest in future.

Abubakar commended the Police officers across the country for being professional during the protest.

“I can tell you that our men acted professionally during the protest, they have their guns, they were being killed, yet they respected human dignity.

“I came specifically to visit vandalised property and to see the level of damage done to police facilities in Imo.’’ Inspector-General of Police, Muhammad Abubakar visits Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo. [Twitter/@Hope_Uzodimma1]Inspector-General of Police, Muhammad Abubakar visits Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo. [Twitter/@Hope_Uzodimma1]

Abubakar said he would also address key stakeholders and police officers to encourage and boost their morale which he said were low due to the protest.

He said he would strengthen community policing and to partner with relevant stakeholders in achieving the aim.

Uzodinma, in his remarks, said that the Police officers paid huge sacrifice for the nation during the protest.

He said the society needed to embrace the Police strongly, while also assuring that Imo government would support security agencies in the state.

The governor expressed worry that social media was being used to cause trouble in the country.

“I am strongly advocating that social media should be regulated in Nigeria.

“Opposition party incited hoodlums to cause trouble in Imo, because the real protesters went off the street after my address and assurances to them,’’ Uzodinma said.(Punch)

NO HUMAN FEELINGS!! How SARS Killed My Husband, Told Me to Marry Another One – Woman Opens Up To Anambra Judicial Panel

An Anambra woman Mrs Chidimma Edozieuno, has appeared before the Anambra Judicial Panel of Inquiry on police brutality. The helpless woman revealed how men of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad took away her husband in 2017 and told her to kiss him goodbye.

Edozieuno, who petitioned the panel and appeared for testimony, said her husband, who lived in Benin Republic, visited Nigeria after she gave birth to a baby and was arrested in the early hours of August 1, 2017 by policemen on mufti at their Ichida Street residence in Awka.

She alleged that her property was taken away to an unknown destination by the operatives, whose operational base was not disclosed to her.

The woman said the operatives alleged that her husband was a kidnapper and she would not see him again.

She said, “We were in our house in Awka that fateful day in August 2017 when some gunmen broke into our house and took my husband. They also took away almost all our household properties and told me to go and marry another man that this one is as good as dead.

MUST READ:GBAGAUN!!  Youths Threatens Niger State Government – Tells Governor To Share COVID-19 Palliatives Or Else.

“They said my husband was a kidnapper. I did not even know where they came from, and at first, I didn’t even know they were policemen.

“With the help of a friend, who is a police officer, we started looking for my husband. He took me around many police stations to know if they had him, but none of them had him. We went to Awkuzu SARS office where I saw three of the men who came and arrested my husband.

“I took a lawyer and we went to court. It was in court that the counsel representing the SARS told us that my husband was dead. They said he was a kidnapper. I dated my husband for a long time before we got married. He is not a kidnapper. I lived in Benin and that was where we knew each other. I later relocated to Nigeria. My husband is from Aguleri.”

She said that items collected from her home included a refrigerator, television, a generator set, laptop, iPhone and Wifi.

She also asked that the body of her husband be given to her for burial and compensation for the household items taken from her home.

Chairman of the panel, Justice V.N. Umeh (rtd), however, assured Edozieuno that the panel would investigate and make recommendations on her matter.

#EndSARS: How Police Bullet Crippled Me, Victim Of Police Brutality Opens Up To Ogun State Judicial Panel

A victim of police brutality, Ganiu Kamol, on Thursday told the Ogun State Judicial Panel of Investigation how “unknown” police officers shot him in the leg and crippled him.

Ganiu who gave evidence before the panel sitting at the Magistrate Court 1, Isabo, Abeokuta, the state capital, said he was shot in the leg by an unknown police officer attached to the Ibara Divisional Police headquarters of the Ogun State Police Command on July 17, 2018. Ganiu gave evidence at the maiden sitting of the panel set up by the state government to investigate complaints of victims of police brutality, human rights violations and extrajudicial killings by security operatives within the state. 

The petitioner said after he was shot, his mother and brother were detained by the then Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ibara division, CSP Bolaji Oluwasegun. 

He alleged that the DPO refused to produce the officer that fired the shot and equally prevented the hospital from treating him. Narrating his ordeal with the police, Ganiu said he was hit by the police bullet while he was driving at 3 am around Ibara area of the state capital.

According to him, the bullet hit him on his right leg and came out to brace the second leg

Ganiu said, “When I was hit by the bullet, I managed to drive to the hospital for treating where my mother and my brother were told that they would not treat me without a police report”.

#Endsars: FOI Not Applicable To Lagos State — Gov. Sanwo-Olu Replies Lawyer, Denies Him Copies Of Instrument Setting Up Lagos Panel

The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has denied FOI request of a lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, for copies of instruments establishing the Lagos Panel of Inquiry.

In a letter signed by one Deyemi Bamgbose, Esq for the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, the governor said Freedom of Information Act, 2011, does not apply to Lagos State.

The letter reads in part, “I am directed to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 25th October, 2020 to the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and on whose behalf we hereby respond

“I am further directed to inform you that the Laws of Lagos State does not include the Freedom of Information Act which is a Federal Law that is not applicable to the State, as such your request cannot be granted.”

The Governor placed reliance on the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of EDOSACA V OSAKUE & ORS (2018) LPELR-44157 (CA) and stated that FOI Act is an Act of the National Assembly and applies only to public records of the Federation and not the state government.

“Whilst assuring your organization of the current administration’s agenda to remain transparent and accountable for all its activities, it is important to state that Mr. Governor has no legal obligation to provide your organization with the information requested.” the letter further reads.

In reaction, Inibehe Effiong countered Governor Sanwo-Olu’s reliance on EDOSACA V OSAKUE. According to Effiong, “in Alo V Speaker, Ondo State House of Assembly & Anor (2018), the Ondo Division of the Court of Appeal held that the FOI Act is binding on States.”

Effiong said, “By virtue of Section 1 of the Tribunals of Inquiry Law of Lagos State, the Panel of Inquiry can only be created by an Instrument; not by a press release or declaration in the media. Without this Instrument, the Panel is illegal. Only an Instrument can legalize their proceedings.

“The inescapable implication is that except there is an legal Instrument as required by law, we are wasting our time with the ongoing inquiry. The members of the Panel, protesters and the public deserves clarification from the governor on this issue. This is a fundamental issue.

“It is also important for us to see the Instrument under which the curfew was declared. Given the conflicting accounts by the state government, the military and other interested parties, it is essential for the Instrument by which the curfew was imposed to be made public.”

Furthermore, he said the conflicting decisions of the Court of Appeal on binding effect of the FOI Act on states should not be an issue, rather, the issue should be the “governor’s questionable commitment to a credible investigation by the Panel of Inquiry. If the governor is sincere, why has he refused to release these Instruments if they actually exist?”

He said he will review the matter and take the appropriate action.

“Those who lost their lives and those whose properties were destroyed deserves justice. We will be dishonouring them if we do not unravel the truth.

“Governor Sanwo-Olu should release the Instruments.” he said

TNL recalls that on 26th October, 2020, Inibehe Effiong wrote the Lagos Governor under the Freedom of Information Act 2011 requesting for the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Instrument setting up the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on SARS Abuses and Lekki Toll Gate Incident.

He also requested for the CTC of the Instrument, Executive Order or Directive under which curfew was imposed on the State from the hours of 9pm on 20th October.

He equally requested for CCTV records showing the attack on protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate.

Lagos State Agents Are Threatening Eyewitnesses Of Lekki Shooting – Fmr. NBA Ikeja Chair, Ogunlana

ADESINA Ogunlana, a former Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Ikeja Branch has alleged that agents of the Lagos State Government are threatening the lives of eyewitnesses of the Lekki shooting.

Ogunlana said this on Friday during the resumed sitting of the Lagos state judicial panel for an investigation into police brutality and the October 20 Lekki shooting and alleged killing of peaceful ENDSARS protesters.

“I had intended to hide the identities of these individuals I am representing here today because of threats to their lives by agents of the state. They are here within,” said Ogunlana.

Presenting three persons before the panel, Ogunlana introduced them as Victoria Oniru, Dabira Ayuku and Perpetual Ikechukwu as eyewitnesses of the occurrence.

However, Abiodun Owonikoko and Rotimi Seriki who are the legal representatives to the Lagos State government and Lekki Concession Company respectively argued the status of EndSARS protest as a legal entity to be represented at the Panel by Ogunlana.

“EndSARS protest is a nebulous entity. There is no entity called EndSARS protest. My learned colleague is entitled to represent anybody according to the law but to claim to represent the protest is not known before the law.

“It is understandable if he represents the protesters but to be representing the protest itself needs to be cleared,” Owonikoko said.

In response to Owonikoko’s claim, Ogunlana said the sitting is a panel and not a regular court hence he can represent the protest.

“We are all here because of the EndSARS protesters and victims of police brutality. This is not a regular court. It is a fact-finding panel.

Following the presentation of the eyewitnesses and the argument, Doris Okuwobi, chairman of the panel, ruled that Ogunlana can represent the EndSARS protesters.

The Lagos state judicial panel is currently playing the CCTV footage of the Lekki Tollgate in order to confirm the actions of the soldiers who were at the scene of protest on the evening of Tuesday, October 20.

According to live streaming of the occurrence by a Nigerian disc jockey DJ Switch, soldiers were seen shooting at peaceful ENDSARS protesters.

Nigeria Immigration Asks #Endsars Promoter, Odele To Come For Her Seized Passport

#EndSARS promoter, Modupe Odele has said the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, has asked her to come and pick up her seized passport.

Odele’s passport was seized six days ago at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos while travelling out of the country.

She had complained and wondered why her passport was seized without any explanation from the NIS.

However, on Friday, Odele tweeted that NIS has asked her to come for the collection of her passport by 4.00pm today.

She said she had told them that she would come to pick it up by Monday.

Odele stated that she asked for an earlier time, but was told that the passport would only be ready by 4.00pm.

“I’ve been told by Immigration that my passport is ready for collection from 4pm today. I’ve respectfully informed them I’ll be there on Monday to pick it up.

“Since today is Friday, I asked for an earlier time but was told it will only be ready from 4pm today Friday,” she tweeted.

NIS had earlier denied that her passport was seized because of her involvement in #EndSARS campaign against police brutality.

According to NIS’ spokesman, Sunday James, her passport was seized as part of a routine border assignment.

“As an enforcement agency in charge of border management, if there is an order restricting anybody from entry into the country, we enforce it without any prejudice.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with EndSARS protest or an individual, it is a routine assignment.”

Amnesty Raises Alarm Over Threat To Staff In Nigeria, Vows Not To Be Silent

A human rights group, Amnesty International has raised an alarm over threats to staff in Nigeria but said irrespective of the development, it will not back down in its fight against injustice.

“Amnesty International draws the attention of the Nigerian authorities and the general public to the intimidation and outright threats of attacks that were issued against its staff, supporters, and premises by a faceless and unknown group at a press conference held on 4 November 2020,” the group said in a statement on its Twitter handle on Friday.

“Similar faceless groups had previously invaded our office and given us ultimatum to leave Nigeria. Amnesty International is a global human rights movement and we are independent of any government.”

In spite of these attacks, Amnesty international restated this “we will not stay silent. In the face of efforts to evade responsibility or to smear our organization, we will continue to raise our voices whenever and wherever we see injustice.”

While saying it is not affiliated to any government, ideology, or interest, and have been working in Nigeria since June 1967, it said “the Nigerian authorities owe a legal duty to ensure the protection of lives and properties what every person in the country.

“Malicious threats will not deter us from continuing to speak against human rights violation and abuses by state and non-state actors.”

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Int’l Society Releases Names Of Alleged Victims Of Oyigbo Military “Massacre”

Against denials and cross-fire accusations of a possible massacre of unarmed civilians by the Nigeria Army in Oyigbo Town, in Oyigbo local government area of Rivers State, a Civil Society group has published names of persons it said were victims of the military operations.

In its statement sent to TheNigerialawyer the organisation, Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law, which said the report was temporary, said that not less than 50 persons were reportedly killed and about 80 injured.

Below Intersociety’s full statement on the Oyigbo military invasion and alleged killings in other states in the South East.

The Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law can circumstantially, verifiably and statistically state that the EndSARS protests in the Igbo States of Rivers (largely Igbo), Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia and Imo were turned into shooting and killing spree by ethno-religiously imbalanced armed soldiers of the Nigerian Army and personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, leading to close range shooting to death of at least 110 unarmed citizens and terminal injuring of at least 200 others.

These, including Gov Wike aided Army massacre in Obigbo and environs, generally took place in 14 days or from 21st Oct to 4th Nov 2020. The killings were so glaring that the corpses of the slain littered inside the bushes and by the roadsides; with some buried shallowly or left to decompose and others picked up by their relatives or emergency officials of some of the affected States especially Rivers and Enugu States. There are also independent reports of scores of bodies of the slain buried atrociously by soldiers in shallow graves including melting them with acid substances. Such was the case in Aba in Feb 2016 and Sept 2017 and Onitsha and Nkpor in May 2016.

While most of the shootings, killings and injuries had occurred between 21st and 24th Oct 2020; a period of three days, in Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo and Abia States, those of Obigbo and environs in Rivers State took place between 21st Oct when the Gov Nyesom Wike imposed curfew in Oyigbo Local Government Area, targeting Obigbo and environs and 4th Nov, a period of 14 days, when the curfew supposedly elapsed and the massacre forced to subside following public outcries. Since then, Gov Wike has been running from pillar to pole defending himself, saying he ‘did not invite soldiers to kill Obigbo residents”.

We also wish to state clearly that the 50 death figures and 80 gunshot injuries in Obigbo and environs are most likely to be very conservative. This is going by the fact that pieces of credible information are still filtering in and what we have given here is the general evaluation of what happened. The projected 50 deaths and 80 injuries were temporarily arrived at based on credible information gathered from some of the survivors, who also told us that “they saw soldiers driving away dozens of blindfolded residents of their area (Obigbo and environs) with their hands tied behind their back and taken away half naked in batches of military vehicles”. Intersociety is presently carrying out extensive investigation into the massacre especially with regard to ascertaining the final figure of the dead, the tortured, the sexually harassed including the raped; the burnt, the destroyed, the looted, the arrested and incarcerated and the permanently disappeared.

The number of those blindfolded and made half naked who were independently seen being taking away is estimated at over 200. Our contacts who independently verified from police authorities said police told them that none of them arrested and taken away by soldiers since 21st Oct has been handed over to the Rivers State Police Command as at 4th Nov 2020. This raises serious suspicion of secret killing of scores of them by soldiers and possible decimation of their bodies with acid substances for purpose of erasing traces. We also seriously suspect that those arrested since two weeks and possibly held illegally in secret Army custodies are most likely to be undergoing outlawed and agonizing detention practices.

Therefore, as statistics conscious rights group, Intersociety has refused to speak categorically on Obigbo massacre until pieces of reliable statistics or information are gathered. That is to say that this position of ours on the number of the slain and the maimed arising from the massacre is not final, but a credible attempt to present the thirsty global community with a general statistical idea of what the ethno-religiously lopsided Nigerian Army did to Christian citizens of old Eastern Nigeria in Obigbo and environs, in full conspiracy of Gov Nyesom Wike.

We are also in possession of dozens of photos and videos of the slain and the maimed, collected from Rivers, Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo, Enugu and Abia States. Apart from getting them from direct source, they have also been manually and forensically investigated. The photos and videos, many of which not public image friendly, except on personal or formal request, clearly depict deadly use of force by the culpable soldiers and police personnel particularly in Obigbo and environs where ‘heavy’ military bullets were used against unarmed and defenseless citizens.

The victims were also targeted and shot at close range and forbidden or sensitive parts of their bodies; all with intent to massacre or slay.  That is to say that the slain victims seen and verified were shot at close range and their sensitive parts including forehead/brain, chest/heart, abdomen/manhood, stomach, and eyes/nose/mouth regions. For instance, Intersociety agrees with Gov Nyesom Wike, to an extent, that “some photos and videos being flooded in the social media as those linked to Obigbo massacre are fake or not connected with same”, but not all of them are fake or with different origins.

Gov Wike’s position on this has implied that ‘soldiers and proscribed SARS operatives did not kill  defenseless residents of Obigbo and environs, or destroy and burn properties including residences, or sexually harass including engaging in forced sexual intercourse with or raping unmarried/young married women, or carry out general acts of torture, or blindfold some defenseless residents, take them to unknown military destinations and possibly kill them, or engage in mass arrest of hundreds of the residents of the area; etc. Contrarily, reverse is the case.

Obigbo Casualties & Injuries: Therefore, in Obigbo and environs in Rivers State, we can temporarily confirm the killing of at least 50 unarmed citizens and injuring of not less than 80 others. We can also confirm eleven deaths so far out of which, eight has their names identified and three yet to be named. Their names are: (1) Pastor Igwe (slain husband of Mrs. Amara Igwe), (2) Queen Nwazuo (slain fiancée of Mr. Monday Bakor), (3) Okoro Peter and (4) Chinwendu O.: they were shot at close range and killed instantly by soldiers on 24th Oct 2020 few meters away from Gov Wike’s convoy.

The Gov was visiting Obigbo to assess his military deployment and curfew same day and the two young residents barely emerged from their houses to hear what their Gov has come to tell them when soldiers sighted them and opened fire, killing them instantly. They were shot at forehead, forcing the brain-box of Late Chinwendu to bust and emptied at the center of the road. Other dead citizens were: (5) Jude Egejuru (died from gunshot injuries), (6) Clifford Nkemdilim, (7) Late Miss Ngozi Ozuo, (8) Udeme Ossy Monday, (9) a yet-to-be identified dead citizen, (10) second yet-to-be-identified citizen and (11) third yet-to-be-identified dead citizen. It must be noted that soldiers took away bodies of most of those killed.

Among the deadly injured are: (1)  Chukwuma Chinonso, (2) Nwoke Okwudiri Nwonye, (3) Uche Ogbonna, (4) Chikaodi Agwu, (5) Michael Okwudiri, (6) John Emeka, (7) Agwu Enyi, (8) Obichukwu Chibuike, (9) Izuchukwu Igwe, (10) Eluu Chukwuemeka, (11) Arinze Joshua, (12) Nwakama Izuegbe, (13) Destiny Okorie, (14) Michael Nkama, (15) Israel Asoh, (16) Emeka Heart, (17) Victor Heart, (18) Orji Amaoji, (19) Paschal, (20) Obasi Emela, (21) Chiwuzu Orjinta and (22) Sylvester Odoche.

Casualties & Injuries Across The Southeast: In Ebonyi State, where at least ten citizens were killed, among them were: (1) Nwibo Chibueze, (2) Nwali Emeka, (3) a yet-to-be-identified young man in his twenties and (4) Ofoke Sunday. Among at least 30 victims of gunshot wounds in the State are: Oshopo Chinedu, (2) Ngoke The, (3) Nwoji Ikechukwu, (4) Nwovu Ikechukwu, (5) Nwofe Lewis, (6) Elom Chimezie, (7) Opoke Mbakwe, (8) Onwe Monday, (9) Elochukwu Suday, (10) Onwe Ezekiel, (11) Igwe Uchenna, (12) Nwudele Uchenna, (13) Nwudele Uchenna, (14) Nwamiri Chukwudi, (15)  Nwebi Stephen, (16) Nwofoke Ugochukwu, (17) Nwoke Peter, (18) Mbam Emmanuel, (19) Okey Emeka, (20)Egba Izuchukwu, (21) Awoke Nnamdi and (22) Alo Peter.

In Enugu State, where at least ten citizens were killed, among them were: (1) Christian Ugwuaja, (2) Sunday Chime, (3) Victor Igwe and (4) John Ikemuefuna. Among at least 30 gunshot victims are: (1) Okafor Kosisochukwu, (2) Ezeagbo Ifeanyi, (3) Odigomma Chimazom, (4) Ajah Chukwuemeka, (5) Somtoo Nwaeze, (6) Innocent Ominyi, (7) Friday Mgebebu, (8) Ezinduamaka Osondu, (9) Happiness Chidiebere, (10) Chinonso Obodoagu, (11) Idoko Ebuka, (12) Ibebuike Uzoigwe, (13) Chidi Oguejiofor, (14) Odinaka Ejim, (15) Solomon Okafor, (16) Ani Ifedibalachukwu, (17) Ituma Tochukwu, (18) Oge Simon, (19) Ezeaga Chukwuma, (20) Onwuna Kosiso, (21) Onwe Humphrey, (22) Sunday Kingsley Nweze and (22) Akpataobi Peter.

In Anambra State, where at least ten unarmed citizens were killed, among them were: (1) Ezenwile Okwuchukwu John, (2) Obasi Mmaduabuchi, (3) Nwafor Ikechukwu and (4) Ekeh Emmanuel Friday; and among 20 wounded citizens are: (1) Okafor Chidi, (2) Ogbada Chinonso, (3) Chigozie Ezenwa, (4) Nwokwu Anayochukwu and (5) Onuoha Kalu. In Abia State, where up to, if not over 20 citizens were killed, among them were: (1) Ifeanyi Nwaogu, (2) Isaiah Chiedozie, (3) Chijoke, (4) Chinedu, (5) Kelechi Godslove, (6) Uche (killed at Ogbohill, Aba), (7) Gorge (killed along Cameroon Road, Aba) and (8) Chukwuka Odinaka Omemma; and among some 25 gunshot injured citizens are: (1) Cyprian Onwe, (2) Uchenna Kalu, (3) Nze Anayo Okoro, (4) Enyinnaya Agha and (5) Chinomso Nkalu. In Imo State, ten persons were killed in Mbaitolu and Orlu and about 15 others shot and injured. Among the dead were Late Mr. Agomuo of IMSUBEB (killed by Army at Nworie-Ubi, Owerri) and Mr. Uwadi Ebuzoeme shot dead in Orlu.

Signed:

Principal Officers: Emeka Umeagbalasi (Board Chair), Chinwe Umeche, Esq., (Head of Democracy), Obianuju Igboeli, Esq., (Head of Civil Liberties), Ndidiamaka Bernard, Esq., (Head of Int’l Justice & Human Rights) and Comrade Sam Kamanyaoku (Head of Field Data Collection & Documentation)

Contacts:

Mobile/WhatsApp: +2348174090052

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.intersociety-ng.org

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