Treat Nigerians With Dignity, Rights Group Cautions Politicians

By Agbese Philip

A group under the aegis of Civil Right Advocacy Group [CRAG]has roundly condemned what it described as inhuman treatment Nigerians are subjected to at campaign rallies around the country, particularly the All Progressives Congress rally in Kano recently and warned that such condemnable acts must be stopped with immediate effect.

In a statement signed by its National co-ordinator, Salisu Talba in Abuja yesterday, took a swipe at the All Progressives Congress Presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari's campaign rally in Kano for renting victimsof Boko Haram, internally displaced persons and people from neighbouring Statesin a bid to shore-up support for the party.

He said “the psychological exploitation of victims of theheinous Boko Haram crisis is unfortunate, unimaginable and unacceptable in anydemocratic set up, particularly renting of internally displaced persons in thepolitics of crowd pulling at rallies. It therefore suggests that the APCpresidential candidate has taken his desperation beyond the norms of moralityand common sense which to many is worse than the Baga genocide by the dreadedIslamic sect, Boko Haram in the North East.

“Any form of government, be it military or democratic thathas no sense of respect for human dignity and rights of the human person,should not only be discarded, buts its proponents should be sanctioned byNigerians, members of the international community that have come to observe aselection rigging begins even before the election day.”

According to him, “It is derogatory, animalistic andbarbaric that the call for change is not a return to the medieval period wherethe mighty derived pleasure in taking his fellow mortals through unholy labourjust to massage their ego and pride in the society.”

The group also expressed relief that the timely interventionof foreign observers who have already arrived the country would go a long wayto saving vulnerable children and women from the shackles of modern day slaveryin Nigeria being occasioned by the mad-rush by desperate actors to undo theiropponents in the forth-coming general elections, the statement added.