A civil society organization, Centre for Social and Economic Rights (CSER) has called on the Department of State Services (DSS) to immediately arrest, interrogate and arraign for treason the leaders and members of a group National Youth League for the Defence of Democracy (NYLDD) who were reported to have staged a protest today 23rd March 2023 in Abuja the federal capital territory and called for the installation of an interim government.
According to a press statement issued by the organization executive director, Nelson Ekujumi in Lagos today 23rd March 2023, “CSER condemned in the strongest terms, the irresponsible, reckless, barbaric, provocative, invitation to anarchy and treasonable call by the group who from all intent and purpose are dancing nakedly to the drum beats of it’s anti democratic sponsors who are hell-bent on undermining and truncating Nigeria’s democracy at all cost after their political party and candidate was rejected at the polls by the Nigerian people in an election that was fair, successful and creditably conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The civil society organization noted that the 1999 constitution as amended, state very clearly the manner for the installation of government in Nigeria which is via elections as conducted by INEC and that there is no provision in the constitution for the installation of a interim government which the anarchist group is calling for after the conclusion of the 2023 general elections which has received local and international commendation despite some observed lapses which does not in any way distract from the success and credibility of the elections.
However, CSER noted that the treasonable call by this anarchist group (NYLDD) can be gleaned as leaning on support from the previous statement of former president Olusegun Obasanjo and the recent one of the vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party Mr. Datti Baba-Ahmed on a national TV programme, where he said democracy will end in Nigeria on May 29, 2023 if the president-elect is sworn into office in line with the provisions of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, which is utterly reckless, reprehensible, condemnable and amounts to treason.
The group called on aggrieved parties and candidates who took part in the just concluded 2023 general elections to explore the window of judicial process as stipulated by the electoral Act instead of plotting to derail democracy by acts of treason which is condemnable and unacceptable.
The civil society organization used the occasion of the press statement to awaken Nigerians to be alert to defend this hard won democracy which has come under relentless attacks from agents of anarchy and treason in a scenario similar to the June 12 1993 presidential election debacle and must not be allowed to repeat itself.
CSER called on the DSS to immediately arrest the group leaders, interrogate them to name it’s sponsors and arraign for treason in order to safe guard our democracy and national security which is under attack.
E-signed,
Nelson Ekujumi,
Executive Director.
