Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has warned that security agents who kill ballot box snatchers at the rescheduled General Election this Saturday will face prosecution at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherland.
This comes as he expressed concern that Nigeria is gradually drifting towards dictatorship.
Ortom condemned what he called brazen disregard for the rule of law in the present administration, even as he described President Muhammadu Buhari’s death threat to ballot snatchers as unpresidential.
In an interview with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, the governor warned that anything that could disrupt the election must be avoided.
While noting that he does not condone electron rigging, the governor, however, insisted that due process must be followed in dealing with those who commit infractions.
He said: “It is unfortunate for our own President to come out and disregard the provisions of the laws of the land and give orders for extra-judicial killings in the state and torture against innocent Nigerians.
“Let me say unequivocally that I am completely against the rigging of any form by any political party. It is wrong and we do not need that.
“For me, I did not rig election to become governor. But the truth of the matter is that we have laws. And I expect that Mr President who is the chief custodian of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should protect our constitution and the laws of the land. It is unfortunate that Mr President gave that orders. I was just reading from the social media the reaction of the military that they are going to obey the directives of Mr President to the letter. It is unfortunate. This cannot stand, this cannot hold”.
The Governor condemned the President’s call on security agencies to ‘deal ruthlessly’ with ballot box snatchers, adding: “It will not be accepted and we are going to contest this”.
Ortom also denied claims by the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, that the electoral body colluded with main opposition party to abort last week’s national elections.
He said the Benue State chapter of APC was in support of staggered election, as they had written a petition to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), calling for the postponement of election in the state.
The President, he said, would lose sympathy from voters as a result of desperation shown by him and the governing All Progressives Congress (PDP) to win the polls at all costs.
“The APC in Benue State wrote a petition to INEC to postpone Benue election when there was no issue. So, it is a planned matter. They should not be shedding crocodile tears that INEC was conniving with PDP. The reverse is the case because they knew about this.
“For instance, in my local government when we got there, no agent of APC was there to supervise the collection of materials for the various polling units. So, it is a clear indication that these people had known that the elections were going to be postponed. But we are watching them. They are just postponing the evil day. It is a matter of time. On the 23rd of February, they will still see the same defeat. We believe that Nigerians who had sympathy with them but with what they are doing, the sympathy will be no more,” he said.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
