By Joshua Chibuzo Andrew, Owerri

The Catholic Bishop of Umuahia, Michael Ukpong, has revealed how the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, crucified the hope of Nigerians for a new country through the manipulation of the outcome of the 2023 presidential poll.

The Lord Bishop, made the remark in his Easter message, tasked Nigerians not to give up, expressing hope that as Jesus resurrected from death three days after his burial against the wishes and opposition of Jewish leaders and Roman soldiers, justice will ultimately prevail over falsehood.

In His message, ” That Jesus rose again from death on the third day after his crucifixion and death at Calvary is a historical fact. It clearly demonstrates that; goodness, not evil, love not to hate, and life, not death has the last say.

“This fact is particularly important for us Nigerians in the face of what INEC did with the presidential election we have just had. The message of Easter this year for the good people of Nigeria is that we should not give up hope for a New Nigeria, which many of us voted for. For now, that hope has been crucified by INEC.

“The enemies of Jesus were so happy that they eventually captured Jesus and killed him. But for how long? Their joy was short-lived, just as Jesus had told the disciples before his passion and death; he said “I tell you most solemnly, you will be weeping and wailing while the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy” (John 16:20).

“The enemies of Jesus rejoiced only on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Early Sunday morning Jesus rose again from the dead, despite the soldiers guarding his tomb, he came out glorious, and his disciples who were in deep sorrow on Good Friday and Holy Saturday were overjoyed to see the risen Lord.

“In the same way, the good people of Nigeria are in sorrow now, while the criminal elements in politics are rejoicing believing they have had it again their way. In a short while, at God’s appointed time, the table will turn on them and our sorrow will turn into joy.”

He therefore urged Nigerians to pray for the country and show love for one another, stressing that it was love for humanity that compelled Christ to sacrifice his life for all.

By Joshua Chibuzo Andrew, Owerri

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has said on Sunday that Nigerians were frustrated by the outcome of the 2023 election.

He tasked citizens to rise and reclaim their country from the clutches of the current administration, adding that justice had eluded Nigerians.

Kukah, who stated this in his Easter message to Nigerians, described them as men and women returning from a funeral with forlorn looks.

He, however, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the fact that he had recognised that his criticisms of the current administration were not borne out of malice, but rather a desire to see Nigeria reach its full potential.

According to him, “I commend you (Buhari) for the fact that you have known that none of this was done out of malice but that we want the best for our country.

“May God guide you in retirement while we all embark on the challenge of reclaiming the country we knew before you came,” Kukah said.

The cleric condemned the violence that trailed the elections, saying it could not be accepted as the new ladder to power.

Kukah said: “Nigerians are so collectively frustrated that it is almost impossible to convince them that they can find justice.

“Everywhere you turn today, Nigerians look forlorn, disconsolate, lugubrious, and despondent. Our swagger is gone. We look like men and women returning from a funeral, murmuring discontentment in hushed tones. It is, therefore, not surprising that even the victors are blowing a muted trumpet.

“Unpleasant as this may sound, this blood that they have shed could be seen as blood of the birth of a new Nigeria. It can become the blood of our new birth, our redemption.

”However, we cannot accept that violence and bloodshed are the normal route to power. Because like the blood of Abel, the blood of those who have been murdered continues to cry out to heaven seeking for justice ( Gen. 4:10).”

The bishop empathised with aggrieved citizens and asked them not to give up in the quest for justice but align their hopes with the celebration of Easter.

“Though we are tempted with the drudgery of fatigue and despondency, unlike the apostles in the garden of Gethsemane, we should be ready to wait in patience for one hour or more (Mt. 26:40),” Kukah said.

“Our dream is merely in suspense, a punctuation mark in the book of our unfinished greatness. Let us see this as a detour, a diversion. We still have our roadmap in our hands.

”It is time to return to the highway so as to choose a road less travelled, a road of hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and hope. The ugliness of yesterday must not define us. We must finish this journey together. We shall neither relent, slow down nor give up.
“The resurrection is a promise that despite the seeming hopelessness, God’s plans cannot be frustrated.

Those who position themselves at night with stones to guard the entrance of the tomb will find themselves confounded at dawn by an empty tomb. A new Nigeria will emerge from the tombs of our seeming helplessness.”

Speaking to aggrieved Nigerians, Kukah asked them not to show their anger through violence but to transform it into a motivation to seek justice.

“Yes, we are all angry and we all want justice. Yes, we have the right to be angry and we should be angry. But, angry about what, angry with whom and justice for whom?

”St. Thomas Aquinas, known as the angelic doctor of the church, said: ‘He who is not angry when there is a just cause for anger is immoral because anger looks to the good of justice. If you can live with injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust’.

“This is why the urgent task before us is to restore the dignity of the Nigerian nation and her citizens. Nigerians have for too long been beaten by the rain and the sun of injustice,” Kukah said.

While noting that the country was preparing for a new chapter in its history, Bishop Kukah emphasised the pressing need for the incoming President to address the core issues facing the nation, rather than focusing solely on infrastructure and empty political promises.

He expressed hope that the next government would recognize that Nigeria’s most urgent task was not the mere construction of physical infrastructure, but rather the establishment of a strong foundation of social justice, equality, and respect for human rights.

Kukah stated: “I am hopeful that you will appreciate that the most urgent task facing our nation is not infrastructure or the usual cheap talk about dividends of democracy. These are important but first, keep us alive because only the living can enjoy infrastructure.

“For now, the most urgent mission is to start a psychological journey of making Nigerians feel whole again, of creating a large tent of opportunity and hope for us all, of expanding the frontiers of our collective freedom, of cutting off the chains of ethnicity and religious bigotry, of helping us recover from the feeling of collective rape by those who imported the men of darkness that destroyed our country, of recovering our country and placing us on the path to our greatness, of exorcising the ghost of nepotism and religious bigotry.”

By Joshua Chibuzo Andrew, Owerri

The Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, have cried out over the unfair treatment currently meted out to Igbos, insisting that the best bet for the Igbos is to leave the country.

The Igbo Separatist group, in a statement signed by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, on Sunday, said the repeated attacks on its unarmed and peaceful members including the one that happened a few days ago in Aba, Abia state where some of its members were killed and many wounded during a peaceful protest, are proves that Igbos are no longer wanted in Nigeria.

It lamented that Nigeria’s security agencies allowed Shi’ites to protest peacefully but launched attacks on members of IPOB during a peaceful protest in Aba, Abia state.

The statement reads, “we are surprised that the Nigerian government and its security agencies especially their Army and Police allowed the Shi’ites Islamic group who protested peacefully two times in Abuja, to do so without humiliation or molestation,but murdered members of IPOB who were having a peaceful protest in Aba, Abia state.

“IPOB members, on 3rd April, 2023, held a peaceful protest, asking for the unconditional release of its Leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who has been in detention for too long.

“It is now very glaring that Igbos are no longer wanted in Nigeria due to the hatred shown to us. We must organise ourselves and immediately leave Nigeria for the other nationalities who are allowed to act freely in the country.”

The statement further described the earlier proscription of the Igbo indigenous group as a terrorist establishment by the Federal Government, was a clear CX indication that the zone had outstayed its welcome.

It described IPOB as a harmless and unarmed Igbo group that is only fighting against the marginalisation and ill treatment meted a to the geo political zone.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) have filed a lawsuit against President Muhammadu Buhari, asking the court to “declare arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional the N5m fine imposed on Channels Television over a recent interview with the Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed.”

Joined in the suit as Defendants are the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and Mr Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture.

The NBC had recently fined Channels Television N5 million over an interview with Datti Baba-Ahmed. The NBC alleged that the interview ‘violated the NBC code.’

But in the suit number FHC/L/CS/616/2023 filed last week at the Federal High Court, Lagos, the plaintiffs are asking the court to determine “whether the NBC code used to impose a fine of N5m on Channels TV and the threat of ‘higher sanctions’ is not in inconsistent and incompatible with access to information and media freedom.”

The plaintiffs are asking the court for “a declaration that the NBC code used by the NBC to impose a fine of N5m on Channels TV and the threat of ‘higher sanctions’ is arbitrary, unconstitutional and unlawful, as it violates the rights to a fair hearing, freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom.”

The plaintiffs are seeking “an order setting aside the N5m fine for being inconsistent and incompatible with section 22, 36 and 39 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

The plaintiffs are also seeking “an order directing and compelling the NBC to reverse its arbitrary and unlawful decision to impose a fine of N5m on Channels TV forthwith.”

In the suit, the plaintiffs are arguing that: “the media has the task of distributing all varieties of information and opinion on matters of general interest and public interest.”

The plaintiffs said, “Imposing any fine whatsoever without due process of law is arbitrary and unconstitutional, as it contravenes the fundamental principles of nemo judex in causa sua which literally means one cannot be a judge in his own cause and audi alteram partem which means no one should be condemned unheard.”

The plaintiffs are also arguing that, “The media plays an essential role as a vehicle or instrument for the exercise of freedom of expression and access to information in a democratic society.”

According to the plaintiffs: “The NBC Act and Broadcasting Code cannot and should not be used in a manner that is inconsistent and incompatible with plurality of voices, diversity of voices, non-discrimination, just demands of a democratic society, and the public interest.”

The plaintiffs also said, “The fine is arbitrary and unlawful and would have a disproportionate and chilling effect on the work of other broadcast stations and journalists and Nigerians.”

The suit filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by their lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare, Andrew Nwankwo, and Ms Blessing Ogwuche, read in part: “The grounds for imposing a fine of N5m on Channels TV fail to meet the requirements of legality, necessity, and proportionality.”

“Broadcasting is a means of exercising freedom of expression. Any restrictions on freedom of expression must meet the requirements of legality, necessity, and proportionality.”

“The regulation of broadcasting must aspire to promote and expand the scope of the right to freedom of expression, not restrict it.”

“Under the Nigerian Constitution and human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a state party, freedom and diversity must be guiding principles in the regulation of broadcasting. The fine of N5m imposed on Channels TV is entirely inconsistent and incompatible with these principles.”

“Article 19 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights establishes the right to freedom of opinion without interference. Article 19(2) establishes Nigeria’s obligations to respect ‘the right to freedom of expression,’ which includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information, regardless of frontiers.”

“Under article 19(3), restrictions on the right to freedom of expression must be ‘provided by law’, and necessary ‘for respect of the rights or reputations of others’ or ‘for the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health and morals’”

“Although article 19(3) recognizes ‘national security’ as a legitimate aim, the Human Rights Committee has stressed ‘the need to ensure that the invocation of national security is not used unjustifiably or arbitrarily to restrict freedom of expression and media freedom.”

“The use of NBC Act and Code in this case would inadmissibly open the door to arbitrariness and would fundamentally restrict the freedom of expression that is an integral part of the public order protected by the Nigerian Constitution and human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a state party.”

“Arbitrarily imposing fines on media houses simply for carrying out their constitutional duties would both seriously undermine the rights of millions of Nigerians to express their thoughts, and their right to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, in any medium they choose.”

“Freedom of expression includes the public’s right to receive, and the right of those who express themselves through a medium of communication, to impart the greatest possible diversity of information and ideas.

“The right to freedom of expression is based on the right to establish or use a media outlet to exercise freedom of expression and on society’s right to have access to a free, independent, and pluralistic media that allows for the most diverse information.”

“The exercise of the right to freedom of expression through the media is a guarantee that is fundamental for advancing the collective deliberative process on public and democratic issues.”

“The strengthening of the guarantee of freedom of expression is a precondition for the exercise of other human rights, as well as a precondition to the right to participation.”

“Any regulation of the media must be evaluated according to the guidelines and directives imposed by the right to freedom of expression.”

“The plaintiffs recognize the mandates of NBC to regulate broadcasting. However, the exercise of such mandates including imposing any fine must follow the thresholds and guidelines set by the right to freedom of expression and media freedom.”

“The free circulation of ideas and news is not possible except in the context of a plurality of sources of information and media outlets. The lack of plurality in sources of information is a serious obstacle for the functioning of democracy.”

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.