Popular human rights activist, Femi Falana (SAN) has described the shifting of the 2015 polls by six weeks as a coup against the constitution by the national security adviser (NSA) and the security chiefs.
Accordingly, Falana called for the prosecution of the NSA and the service chiefs, saying "even though the NSA is a member of the National Security Council, he cannot usurp the constitutional responsibilities of the body with the connivance of the service chiefs".
"As such, extension cannot be accommodated under the Electoral Act and the Constitution; the democratic process may be terminated by the security chiefs to pave way for the much touted Interim National Government", Falana alleged.
Urging Nigerians to beware of the "Ides of March", Falana further advised democratic forces in the country to be prepared for a long drawn out battle for the restoration of civil rule.
This, he said, had become incumbent since some of the Colonels who played a dominant role in the criminal annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election have taken over the security of the country.
Recalling the advice by the NSA, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (NSA) to INEC in London to postpone the elections, Falana said Dasuki's reason then for his "unsolicited advice" was that the INEC needed time to distribute permanent voter cards to all registered voters.
"But as soon as the INEC announced that all arrangements had been put in place for the distribution of the remaining permanent voter cards in readiness for the February 14 election, the NSA began to sing a different tune", he observed.
He further argued that as an adviser to the president on national security, Dasuki lacks constitutional powers to give direct or indirect advice to INEC on what to do.
"Indeed, there is no statutory nexus between the INEC and the NSA to warrant the purported demand for the postponement of the General Election. To that extent, the NSA acted illegally. The INEC rightly rejected the unwarranted interference from the NSA...
"Just last week, the federal high court sitting in Sokoto declared illegal and unconstitutional the involvement of soldiers in election duties. That judgment is binding on all authorities and persons in Nigeria."
Accordingly, Falana called for the prosecution of the NSA and the service chiefs, saying "even though the NSA is a member of the National Security Council, he cannot usurp the constitutional responsibilities of the body with the connivance of the service chiefs".
In a statement he issued yesterday condemning the postponement of the polls, Falana disclosed that since President Goodluck Jonathan was unable to convince the National Assembly to perfect his tenure elongation bid "on spurious grounds, the service chiefs allowed themselves to be manipulated to subvert the democratic process.
"Thus, by causing the election to be postponed, the NSA and the security chiefs have staged a coup against the Constitution. They are liable to be prosecuted for the grave offence at the appropriate time."Besides, the constitutional lawyer argued that if the Boko Haram war is not defeated by the Army and their Republics of Chad, Cameroon and Niger counterparts in the next six weeks, the security chiefs would likely "ask for another postponement of the General Election on the grounds that the operations in the North-east region have not been successfully concluded.
"As such, extension cannot be accommodated under the Electoral Act and the Constitution; the democratic process may be terminated by the security chiefs to pave way for the much touted Interim National Government", Falana alleged.
Urging Nigerians to beware of the "Ides of March", Falana further advised democratic forces in the country to be prepared for a long drawn out battle for the restoration of civil rule.
This, he said, had become incumbent since some of the Colonels who played a dominant role in the criminal annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election have taken over the security of the country.
Recalling the advice by the NSA, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (NSA) to INEC in London to postpone the elections, Falana said Dasuki's reason then for his "unsolicited advice" was that the INEC needed time to distribute permanent voter cards to all registered voters.
"But as soon as the INEC announced that all arrangements had been put in place for the distribution of the remaining permanent voter cards in readiness for the February 14 election, the NSA began to sing a different tune", he observed.
He further argued that as an adviser to the president on national security, Dasuki lacks constitutional powers to give direct or indirect advice to INEC on what to do.
"Indeed, there is no statutory nexus between the INEC and the NSA to warrant the purported demand for the postponement of the General Election. To that extent, the NSA acted illegally. The INEC rightly rejected the unwarranted interference from the NSA...
"Just last week, the federal high court sitting in Sokoto declared illegal and unconstitutional the involvement of soldiers in election duties. That judgment is binding on all authorities and persons in Nigeria."
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