Five CSOs Protest At US Embassy, Say Buhari Admin 'Dangerous' To 2019 Elections

A Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has staged a protest at the US embassy in Abuja to express concerns over the credibility of the general election.

The protesters carried banners and chanted anti-government songs, while armed policemen drafted to the embassy looked on.

The group said they staged the protest to draw the attention of Nigerians, lovers of democracy and leaders of conscience all over the world to the "danger" that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari posed to the 2019 general election.

Addressing the protesters, Deji Adeyanju, Coordinator of Concerned Nigerians, said: "We strongly believe that it is an aberration for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to use the security agencies to manipulate the electoral system to its benefits, even as such unconstitutional and undemocratic practice has left Nigeria wrecked and in an abysmal state. What's more, we are highly disappointed by the refusal of President Buhari to sack and replace the service chiefs who have failed to provide solutions to the ever-rising security crises in our country".

He called the attention of the United States of America and its allies to the "inhumane and undemocratic scheme of vote buying", which he said is being propagated by the ruling party, adding that "the attempt by APC is to subvert the will of the electorate by inducing them financially".

The group accused security agencies of complicity in the rerun elections in Ekiti, Osun and by-elections in Kwara, Bauchi, Kogi and Katsina.

He continued: "For this reason, we urge the United States, considering its relationship with Nigeria as a diplomatic partner, to continue to remind President Buhari of the dangers of uprooting the structures of the democracy that we have enjoyed since 1999 and which President Buhari himself has maximally enjoyed from. We fear that oppressed voters may resort to self help in the face of partisanship of security agencies."

The protesting groups are the Concerned Nigerians, OurMumuDonDo Movement, Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy, Mad Connect, and the Campaign for Democracy.

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