Politics
By Anthony Isibor
NADECO, USNLG, others have urged the United States Government to boycott the inauguration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, president-elect, which is scheduled for May 29, 2023.
Reacting to a phone conversation between between Anthony Blinken, US Secretary of State and Tinubu, the group said that they expect the president-elect to be a subject of sanctions for the several reasons.
In a letter jointly signed by E. Ogebe Esq., US Nigeria Law Group, Washington; Ayo Ajayi, former NADECO UK, London, England; Lloyd Ukwu Esq., NADECO USA, Washington; G. Ugo Esq., Maryland USA; N. Uzo Esq., Maryland USA; E. Ihim Esq., Texas USA; E. Emenyonu Ph.D, LL.B, Africa United for Peace; and Dr. Olangunju Esq. Maryland USA, they expressed extreme displeasure at the phone call.
According to the letter, Tinubu should be sanctioned for election violence, money laundering, forgery and deception, election corruption, Human Rights abuses, among others.
The letter therefore requested that Tinubu’s visa be restricted for his party’s role in the violent and deadly suppression of voters in Lagos state, including the murder of a Labor Party Polling Agent at Trade Fair area.“As the prime perpetrator and beneficiary of political violence in Lagos, Senator Tinubu should not be exempted from this policy.“If he is sworn in as president and obtains a diplomatic passport, he can reapply for a US visa for official visits thereafter under relevant international exceptions for sovereigns attending the UN in New York.”The letter revealed that the former Lagos State governor was recorded on video declaring in London months before the election that “political power is not to be served in a restaurant, it’s not served in a la carte, it’s what we are doing.“It’s being determined to do it, at all costs. Fight for it, grab it, snatch it and run with it.”It noted that the London Declaration was graphically and murderously played out weeks later in Nigeria and especially in Lagos, where voters were ethnically profiled beaten and even killed as attested to by international observers.“Besides, your own US consulate in Lagos reportedly had to provide trauma counseling to staff who were subjected to brutalization, exclusion and discrimination during the successive elections in Lagos – making a mockery of your administration’s reference to Gen. Buhari as a “champion of democracy.”“Within the past seven months, the US embassy evacuated from Nigeria because of a failed terror bombing in Abuja; US consulate staff were treated for political violence and discrimination in Lagos and an embassy convoy was ambushed in the east. Over 100 people were slaughtered in Benue state last month and another 100 in Plateau state this month. Things are obviously not well in Nigeria worthy of any commendation whatsoever as the embassy itself has seen and experienced.
“Indeed Observers have noted that these elections have been more violent and deadly than that of 2019. Nigeria is headed in the wrong direction developmentally and democratically totally underserving of any accolades.“Tragically, more people were killed in Nigeria’s 2023 elections than in Gen. Buhari’s military coup 40 years,” it added.On Money Laundering, the group recalled that in addition to his drug-money laundering case in the US 30 years ago, recent revelations show a pattern of continuing money laundering via Senator Tinubu’s children with two multimillion dollar properties in New York and and $11 million property in UK.“Ironically, the London mansion was a property being forfeited by the Nigerian government as corruptly acquired by a former official only for it to be reacquired by another. In other words, corruption simply changed hands from PDP to APC.“While we do not believe that Nigeria should be designated a state sponsor of narcotics trafficking over Tinubu’s drug crimes in Chicago, in accordance with the Kingpin Act 1999 to combat international drug trafficking and impose sanctions on “significant foreign narcotics traffickers”, due to jurisdictional and statute limitation issues amongst others, the fact is that it is unseemly and unbecoming for the US to embrace someone with a globally visible footprint of such obscene venality, including profiting from crimes that generationally destroyed lives of Americans. The very fact that the Tinubus continue to launder funds into the US & UK despite a $460,000 drug money asset forfeiture, means he’s a serial offender who hasn’t repented of his dubious ways. Like ISIS, Tinubu merely relocated his lethal operations to Nigeria.“Indeed, it is very possible that the Tinubus might try to invoke diplomatic status over the multimillion dollar New York homes, should he be sworn in, to shield these illicit assets from US law.
“The US has an urgent duty to protect itself from corruption and impunity of politically exposed persons.“Furthermore, we are concerned that Senator Tinubu has engaged in deception and forgery.“The US embassy’s FBI Legal Attaché in Nigeria wrote to the Nigerian Government that upon investigation, no record of Bola Tinubu was found at Chicago State University.“More recently, intrepid Investigative journalist David Hundeyin revealed that the certificate Tinubu submitted to the INEC was a forgery obtained from a certificate counterfeiting website and was not a legitimate CSU diploma.“We should point out that a sitting US Congressman George Santos has just been indicted with 13 criminal counts for which he faces likely expulsion and jail.”The letter also indicted Tinubu in the deadly Lekki tollgate massacre of October 2020.It said that Investigations uncovered a for-profit motive in the massacre.“One of the most shocking revelations was that the Lekki toll plaza that became the Lagos #EndSARs public square was operated by Bola Tinubu’s son. There was therefore a personal financial benefit to be derived directly by ending the protests.“Tinubu actually complained that the protest was affecting Lagos State’s economy https://www.thecable.ng/icymi-some-persons-told-the-presidency-i-sponsored-endsars-protests-says-tinubu/amp?fbclid=IwAR2zdXXYz5TQJHadd0YC6M1rkT7Dxn7S7btDQuMT-9z2P8IbnDWvWJ8YCD8
“Tinubu is the official revenue collector for Lagos state and the Lekki toll plaza was reportedly managed by his son.“A knowledgeable source alleged, “Tinubu owns the toll premises. Seyi his son manages companies within the premises. Seyi put off the billboards and removed the surveillance cameras. In anticipation of the impending massacre..”The group in the letter also cited the BBC report that a fake INEC collator presented a fake result for Oyingbo LG giving Tinubu’s party APC a false victory over LP in Rivers State, among other irregularities by INEC officials as grounds for sanction rather than inauguration.“Mr Secretary, it is crucial that the US does not approbate the travesty in Nigeria. Do not legitimize it by attending any inauguration of a candidate, prior to resolution of all legal challenges, as has been announced. The US cannot once again continue to position itself on the wrong side of history in relation to Nigeria,” the letter stated.
A.I
Tags: Anthony Blinken Bola Ahmed Tinubu NADECO Peter Obi
