Nigeria's Government Condemns CPC's Justification of Post Elections Riots

The Presidency has described attempts by Congress for Progressive Change, CPC to
justify the killings and arson that followed the release of 19, April, 2011 presidential elections across States in the Northern part of the country as “wicked, callous and insensitive”.

The Presidency also said the admission of CPC that its supporters were behind the violence as a further confirmation of suspicion that the violence that followed the polls which claimed lives of 10 Corps’ members among others was well planned in advance.

Apart from Corps members, many non indigenes, especially Christians were also killed by rioters who alleged that the presidential election was rigged against General Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of CPC. Buhari himself has distanced himself from the action of the rioters.

 But Abubakar Malami, CPC legal adviser yesterday told journalists that the post election violence was as a reaction to a determination by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to win “the elections by any means.”  

While reacting to this claim, the Presidency, in a press release signed by Ima Niboro, spokesperson to President Goodluck Jonathan today described the claim of the CPC legal adviser as “vexatious in the extreme and “rubbing salt on the raw wounds of families who lost dear ones, and those who were maimed and lost valuable property to the carnage.  

“It also amounts to an open admission that the party’s supporters were indeed
behind the violence, and that the party may well have planned it all”, the Presidency added in the statement while also condemning attempts by the CPC to liken the post presidential election riots to similar events in the country in the past.

The Presidency also faulted the claims of the CPC lawyer that the presidential election was rigged while querying the logic behind the riots.  

“What Malami failed to explain to Nigerians was why these riots and killings happened largely in areas where the CPC won and Jonathan lost.

“He also failed to state that the pattern of voting during the presidential elections in those areas practically replicated the National Assembly elections.

“But while the CPC hailed the one as free, fair and transparent, it has
condemned the other as fraudulent and rigged.

However, it is on record that the election results were collated peacefully at polling unit, ward, local government and state levels without incident in those areas, and that it was at the level of national collation when it became obvious that the CPC had lost woefully that all hell broke loose.

“Obviously therefore, the riots couldn’t have been as a result of the conduct of the presidential elections in those areas where the bulk of the killings took place.  
 
It is thus extremely shocking that a political party, rather than condemn the killings, justifies them and worse still, with examples that just don’t fit. 

“These blood curdling murders, even of our innocent youth corpers that CPC today tried to justify, are even more disturbing because President Jonathan provided a level playing field for a free and fair democratic contest. This has been
acknowledged by the world at large. This was acknowledged by the leadership of the CPC even in the run up to the elections.
 
“It is therefore hard to imagine what purpose these carefully choreographed riots were meant to achieve beyond an attack on those who were believed to have voted against the CPC candidate, and the Youth Corpers who were “guilty” of supervising the process.

“This can only be the reason why even All Nigeria People’s Party, ANPP, stalwarts like Alhaji Bashir Tofa were attacked and his home and cars razed.

Even the Kano Local Government revenue office was torched, yet that is an ANPP administration.

“Neither did the rioters spare our revered traditional rulers, as they attempted to burn down the palaces of emirs they believed did not support their candidate openly enough.

“The CPC”s justification of murder and arson must be condemned by all. It is wicked, callous and insensitive.  Nigeria is a democracy, and a country of laws.

It is not a jungle ruled by whim and caprice”.