By Our Correspondent
Ahead of 2027 general election, a human rights organization, International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, Intersociety vowed Thursday that it may be forced to Internationally block six Nigeria Governors from travelling abroad over their non issue based campaigns rather they embark on campaigns of attack and blackmail on political rivals.

In a press release signed by the Intersociety chairman, Nze Emeka Umeagbalasi, he named the governors to include, Rev. Hyacienth Alia of Benue state, Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra, Monday Okpebholo of Edo, peter Mbah of Enugu, Hope Uzodimma of imo and Francis Nwaifuru of Ebonyi state .

He reiterated his resolve to stop them from traveling to Democratic Europe and America and show them the way to Somalia and Afghanistan rather.

According to Umeagbalasi, “It is therefore on these grounds that we at the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (InterSociety) have monitored Nigeria’s unfolding political events especially since the swearing-in in Oct 2025 of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN; an Ijumu-born Professor of Law from Kogi State as Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

” Having been deeply worried over unfolding political events under his chairmanship especially the religiously motivated timed January 2027 Presidential Election and allied others, the following findings have been made and positions taken : NSCIA Versus INEC: Amupitan’s Legal Brief On Christian Genocide Controversy: The religiously motivated media attacks at the person and religious faith (for being a Christian) of the Chairman of INEC by the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and allied Islamic bodies was found to have marked a turning point and a major stumbling block against the capacity of the INEC Chairman to discharge his sworn duties credibly, independently and impartially in accordance with the multi-ethnic and multi-religious composition of Nigeria as enshrined in the country’s 1999 Constitution.

” There is no doubt that the sole aim of the attacks was to make the INEC helmsman a lame duck and a stooge ahead of the January 2027 Presidential Poll and allied others. It must be disclosed that it was InterSociety that exclusively disclosed to Sahara Reporters in November 2025 that Professor O. Amupitan, SAN, as a professor of law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria was the one that wrote: Legal Brief: “Genocide in Nigeria: Implications for the International Community-2020”.

“As a matter of fact, InterSociety was responding to BBC’s biased report, riddled with imported falsehoods including amplification of Nigerian Government false denials and cover-ups on raging Religious Genocide or egregious Persecution in Nigeria including mass killing of Christians and destruction of churches as well as tribo-religious and well-coordinated attacks against moderate Muslims.

“It was in the course of our media engagement with Sahara Reporters on that they came across our exclusive disclosure while going through our reference to Prof Joash Amupitan’s Legal Brief and resolved to publish it as a separate news; from where the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and allied others launched series of fierce personal and institutional attacks on the new INEC Chairman (as he then was), calling him names and asking him to resign.

“Pre-Resignation Letter allegedly signed by Professor Joash Amupitan: INEC Chairman’s independence, integrity and credibility were also found to have suffered another major setback when former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof Chdi Amsalem Odinkalu made a weighty and serious allegation on his X handle, alleging that “INEC Chairman Amupitan’s appointment was contingent upon a pre-signed resignation letter by powerful interests”.

“According to Sahara Reporters of April 2, 2026, Prof Odinkalu was further quoted as having added: “I have it on the impeccable authority that there is a pre-signed resignation letter by Chairman Amupitan. It was a pre-condition for his appointment”.

“Polling Units Living-Votes Results Unlikely In The Jan 2027 Presidential Poll: Our position, therefore, is that with the INEC Chairman having been so harassed and intimidated; and having allegedly been compelled to allegedly sign the alleged pre-signed resignation letter by powerful interests in the country’s corridors of power, possibly including leading Islamic bodies; the capacity of the INEC Chairman to conduct free, fair, credible and accountable Jan 2027 presidential poll and allied others based on polling units generated Living Results, is seriously in doubt.

“That is to say that there is likelihood of widespread repeat of the armada of institutional (in-house) rigging of the presidential poll, as was widely suspected to have been the case in 2023. Such are also likely to be extended to Governorship, National and State Assembly Polls. This is more so when not only that members of the opposition political parties and their candidates have turned blind eyes to these grave institutional lapses, challenges and intimidation of the INEC Chairman, but they are compounded by the radical shift of the presidential election timetable on the ground of religion, particularly at the suspected behest of the country’s Islamic leaders.

“Teething Lapses In INEC And Atiku And Peter Obi’s Populism And Crowd Cheering: Following our step-by-step monitoring of the country’s unfolding political events under the current INEC Chairman, it is our finding that leading opposition figures including Mr Peter Obi of NDC and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of ADC, their supporters and followers have continued to be carried away by populism, crowd cheering and sensational social and mainstream media publicity; thereby depriving them of time and opportunities to keep INEC and its Chairman in the record time constant and proper checks.

“For instance, the Nigeria’s leading opposition figures and their parties have failed woefully to compel INEC, in view of the country’s teething territorial insecurity and other unsafe conditions brought about by forest and roadway-flooded Islamic jihadists, to publicly name the number of polling units and collation centres, out of the country’s 176, 846 voting centres and 8, 809 electoral wards where voting and result collation will take place or will not take place especially ahead of the Jan 2027 Presidential Poll; or how the Commission intend to conduct free, fair, credible and accountable presidential poll and others in the country’s 176,846 polling units throughout the country.

“Going by recent experiences in places like Imo, Ebonyi, Rivers, Borno, Zamfara, Benue, etc., especially in those areas devastated by Islamic insurgency and other widespread attacks; tainted electoral results have freely and easily been hatched and harvested in their polling units and electoral wards-using widely suspected cloned INEC’s FormEC8As and FormEC8Bs and other sensitive result tabulation materials.

“The Opposition political figures in the country have also failed to act in record time to compel INEC to migrate to electronic voting, to be practiced and allowed side by side with manual or physical presence voting. It is also most likely correct to say that ahead of the 2027 Polls, there are so many things deliberately left undone by INEC, with the opposition political figures turning blind eyes on them or being too afraid, fearing possible victimization by INEC.

“Political Intolerance of Alia, Soludo, Okpebholo, Others Against Peter Obi: In Anambra State; and contrary to democratic and good governance principles, Prof Charles Soludo as tenured Governor of the State, with about three years and two months before next election into his office and three years and six months before the end of his final tenure; has collapsed the governance and machineries of the State into Tinubu’s presidential campaign instruments and attack machineries against Peter Obi, presidential flagbearer of Nigerian Democratic Congress.

“Professor Soludo must be reminded that voting right is so sacred that he has only one voting right and can never determine the voting rights and outcomes of more than 2.5m Anambra PVC holders found across the State’s 5,720 polling units and 329 wards and result collation centres. That is to say that not even by intimidating and threatening local government and township and community leaders and traditional institutions will this sanctity of the Ballot Box be reversed and militarized. A saying still goes that “Ballot Is Stronger Than Bullet”.

“InterSociety has also received disturbing reports regarding office power abuses and recklessness by State political actors in Benue, Enugu, Edo, Ebonyi and Imo States, among others-where their respective State Governments have resorted to reckless abuse of office power, political rascality and intolerant to dissent voices and muzzling of Civic Space-by organizing direct and indirect attacks and other forms of violence against members of the opposition political parties and their leaders particularly those of the Nigerian Democratic Congress and their Presidential candidate, Peter Obi. Direct or indirect loyalists of Governors Peter Mbah of Enugu State, Rev Hyacinth Alia of Benue State, Francis Nwaifuru of Ebonyi (Nwa Ikuku Father Mbaka), Monday Okpobholo of Edo State and Hope Uzodimna of Imo State, in addition to Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State-have all been fingered in ongoing crude manifestation of office power abuse, political intolerance and rascality.

“In Benue State where former Catholic Priest, Reverend Hyacinth Alia holds sway as Governor since May 29, 2023, recent attack on NDC and its Presidential Candidate (Peter Obi) marked the second time he was being blocked from entering Benue State. Available records at our disposal disturbingly showed that under Rev Alia as Benue Governor since May 29, 2023, no fewer than 2,500 Benue Christians, mainly members of his Catholic Christian denomination have been slaughtered by Jihadist Muslim Fulani Militants; and generally, over 2m have been forced to flee and abandon their livelihoods and Christian faith; out of which over 700,000 are in IDP camps and 1.3m others wallowing in urban homelessness including squatting and homeless street residencies; including hundreds of thousands scattered in Eastern parts of the country.

“Hundreds of churches including over 30 Catholic parishes and outstations have been destroyed or sacked in Kastina-Ala Catholic Diocese alone; likewise, dozens, if not hundreds lost in Otukpo, Gboko and Makurdi Dioceses including those belonging to NKST churches destroyed or sacked. Hundreds of Christian villages and communities have also been uprooted and sacked.

“It is therefore saddening and shocking that the Government of Rev Hyacinth Alia has remained inactive and reluctant in the midst of these religious butcheries and destructions, yet Government linked deadly political thugs were recently mobilized against harmless and law-abiding campaigning political opposition led by Peter Obi and his NDC but failed woefully to prevent attacks and widespread massacre of defenceless Christian Catholics and others across the State.

“The family of our Leader, Emeka Umeagbalasi in the East had also in December 2025 heeded a distress call from one of the Catholic Priests in Katsina-Ala Diocese whose two young parishioners were nearly slaughtered by Jihadist Fulani Militants in Chenchanji, Taraba State where they ran for safety. The two were rescued and kept safe until recently when they moved and settled in Onitsha and Benin respectively.

“Alia, Soludo, Okpebholo, Mbah, Uzodimma And Nwaifuru Risk Being Blocked From Traveling To Europe And Americas And Shown The Way To Somalia And Afghanistan:

“In view of further disturbing reports from Edo, Imo, Enugu, Imo and Ebonyi States including reported gun attacks by suspected Government-linked gunmen who opened fire on NDC members during their ward meeting in Enugu, injuring four; violent threats reportedly issued to local government and community leaders by the authorities of the Ebonyi State Government including alleged threats to oust them if APC does not sweep all the elective seats in the State; similar threats issued by the authorities of the Government of Anambra State and similar acts of abuse of office power, political intolerance and rascality in the States of Benue, Edo and Imo;

“InterSociety is strongly calling on those State authorities and others planning similar dastardly acts to stop and desist from overheating the polity, stifling the Civic Space and resorting to crude political exclusion. They are also strongly reminded that “Rights to political participation including rights to vote or be voted for are clearly provided as “Fundamental Human Rights” under Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution especially in Sections 38, 39, 40 and 41 (rights to Freedoms of thought, conscience, association, assembly and movement).

“It is not only that all forms of such abuse of office, political rascality and intolerance must be stopped and discontinued but also all political parties and their presidential candidates must be allowed unrestricted access to political campaign arenas in any part of Nigeria including Anambra, Benue, Edo, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, among others.

“They must also be protected by such State political actors and drafted security agencies. It is further reminded that all the Governors mentioned except Soludo of Anambra State and Hope Uzodimma of Imo State are also governorship candidates in their respective States in the 2027 General Elections.

“We Will Force Them Out Of Europe & Americas And Into Somalia And Afghanistan, If…: If these Governors continued to portray themselves and their States as “enemies of ballot democracy and axis of electoral militancy and election rigging”, we will be forced to invoke our worldwide contacts, networks and partnerships to block them from making foreign trips to Europe and Americas; likewise private and diplomatic engagements. That is to so say that we have started compiling their names, with intent and readiness to submit them in all the 27 European Embassies and High Commissions and those of the Americas including the United States and Canada and other strategic quarters in their Home Governments. As “portrayed enemies of democracy and electoral process”, they are morally and diplomatically unfit to be allowed access into the soils of these established Democracies.

“As a matter of fact, we will be compelled to force them into traveling to battered Countries of Somalia and Afghanistan-the world hellfire countries and home to enemies of democracy, democratic free speeches, civic spaces, human rights and fundamental freedoms,” he stated.

By George Mgbeleka

The African Democratic Congress has alerted Nigerians to reports of an alleged organised operation to purchase and collect Permanent Voter Cards from citizens across parts of Northern Nigeria.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said it had received multiple reports that individuals acting in the interest of the ruling party were paying money to vulnerable citizens in exchange for their PVCs.

The ADC said it is taking all necessary steps to document the reports gather credible evidence on the individuals behind the operation.

“This is not ordinary vote-buying. A PVC collected from its rightful owner cannot ordinarily be used by another person because accreditation requires biometric verification. The real objective may therefore be to prevent targeted citizens from voting altogether. This is organised voter suppression, and it represents a direct assault on the constitutional rights of Nigerians,” the party said.

The ADC called on the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies to launch an immediate investigation into the reports, identify those financing and coordinating the alleged operation, and prosecute all individuals found purchasing, collecting or unlawfully retaining voters’ cards.

The party urged citizens approached by PVC buyers to refuse their offers, preserve any available evidence and report the incident immediately to INEC, the security agencies or the nearest ADC office.

“The same ruling party under whose watch millions of Nigerians have been pushed deeper into poverty must not be allowed to weaponise that poverty against them. Those who have failed to earn the people’s confidence must not be permitted to purchase their silence,” Abdullahi said.

“A PVC is not merely a piece of plastic. It is the citizen’s voice, power and protection against bad government. The money offered for it may last for one day, but the consequences of surrendering it will last for four years.”

The ADC also called on civil society organisations, election observers, the media, traditional rulers, religious leaders and community associations to intensify public sensitisation and help expose any attempt to disenfranchise Nigerians ahead of the 2027 elections.

The party warned that the purchase or collection of PVCs must not be dismissed as routine political misconduct, stressing that any coordinated effort to remove voting cards from the hands of citizens amounts to an attempt to predetermine the election by deciding who will be allowed to participate.

“To every Nigerian, particularly voters across the North, our message is simple: keep your PVC, protect your power and use it. Do not allow anyone to turn your present hardship into their electoral advantage. Your vote belongs to you, and no one has the right to take it away.”

By Our Correspondent

As workers go trough excruciating pains occasioned by the current hike in fuel price,The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed worry over the rising pump price of petroleum product in the country, saying the situation is inflicting damages on Nigerians.

It wondered why the government that is seeking re-election would put the masses in difficult situation, stating that Nigerians would respond in their own way.

NLC, in a statement signed by its President, Joe Ajaero, also urged the government to immediately give reasonable wage awards to workers; sell sufficient crude in Naira to the local refineries; expand the national storage capacity in pursuance of meeting energy emergencies and security.

The statement reads: “We are seriously concerned by the rising cost of the pump price of petrol across the country. In mega urban cities where petrol is readily available, the cost ranges from N1,430. In less accessible areas, the cost is much worse. This has inflicted incalculable damage to not only wages but our state of being as a people and as a nation.

“It is an established fact that when transportation costs go up, everything else follows, including school fees, rents, tariffs, food stuff, etc.

“These new costs continue to inflict or deepen poverty among the populace, stressing the quality of life to the limits.

“This new surge has come at a time government’s pressure on marketers to reduce the pump price to reflect prices of crude in the international spot market was beginning to yield dividend.

“Yet, even as this new wave of costs is caused by the resurgence of the conflict in the Gulf, our situation needs not be this bleak.

“Coupled with the fact that we are an oil-producing country we have sufficient local refining capacity even as this substantially resides with the private sector.

“As a nation, and as a people endowed with enormous fossil resources, we are deserving of a certain level of protection or buffer against the gales from the Gulf, and indeed, other gales.

“As part of the process of creating this buffer we urge the government to immediately give reasonable wage awards to workers; sell sufficient crude in Naira to our local refineries; expand our national storage capacity in pursuance of meeting energy emergencies and security. These measures will create jobs, economic value as well as deal with mutating security challenges.
There is nothing wrong with government subsidising the needs of citizens, especially in emergency situations like this. At the moment, there is no oil-producing country we know of that has not intervened or come up with sustainable palliatives in one way or the other in these perilous times

“These measures are all the more necessary and urgent because government is making extra money in the international spot market (of between USD35 and 40 per barrel above the budgeted figure). This translates to trillions of Naira a month.

“Government ought to be satisfied with this as it is a windfall.

“On a long term basis, we are equally concerned that local refineries are importing crude. This is unreasonable and unacceptable and defeats the logic and purpose of local capacity.

“We are of the view that a government that seeks re-election in the next few months cannot afford to stand and watch marketers inflict suffering on the citizenry in the name of deregulation. Labour has an obligation to speak out or act accordingly.