The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign
Organisation (APCPCO) has made a formal complaint against Nigeria's First Lady,
Mrs. Patience Jonathan, who during a rally in Calabar, Cross River State last
week, called on PDP supporters to “stone” anyone who came to the state asking
for change.
The letter of complaint signed by Rivers State
Governor and Director General of APCPCO, Rt. Hon Rotimi Amaechi, will on
Monday, 9 March be dispatched to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the
Inspector General of the Nigeria Police (IG) and the National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC), among others.
According to Governor Amaechi, “Change, as the entire
country must know by now, is the slogan of the APC – the rallying cry of a
political party that wishes to bring hope of greater and better things to come
for Nigeria and Nigerians.
“By her statement, Mrs. Jonathan was clearly calling
on PDP supporters in Calabar to attack supporters and campaigners of the APC in
the state.”
The APCPCO likened some of Mrs. Jonathan's inciting
statements and conduct during this political campaign season, to those of Mrs
Simone Gbagbo, wife of the former president of Cote D'Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo,
prior to that country's 2010 election.
The ICC indicted Mrs. Gbagbo for her part in planning
to perpetrate brutal attacks – including murder, rape, and sexual violence, on
her husband's political opponents in the wake of the 2010 election.
Mrs. Jonathan does not occupy any formal office in the
Nigerian government, as the position of First Lady is not recognized by the
Nigerian constitution.
But Mrs. Gbagbo's case shows the ICC's awareness of
how someone beyond formal governmental and military hierarchies can be
identified as responsible for serious international crimes.
The APCPCO pointed out that Mrs. Jonathan's
incontrovertible hate speech not only contravenes the laws of the land, but
also goes completely against the Abuja Peace Accord jointly signed by the two
presidential candidates, General Muhammadu Buhari and President Goodluck
Jonathan – a gesture which is aimed at forestalling violence before, during and
after the 2015 elections.
“PDP supporters in the state who may not know better
could easily yield themselves to the First Lady's admonition and embark on a
process of wanton stoning and other attacks against APC members,” Governor
Amaechi said.
The APCPCO also called on the Nigeria Police to put in
place emergency measures to protect the life and property of APC members in
Calabar and the entire Cross River State.
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