Interim Government Plot: Security Professionals and Politicians Caution About Repetition Of June 12 Disaster

Politicians and security professionals in the nation have issued warnings against a recurrence of the June 12 crisis in 1993.

They were responding to the Department of State Service’s (DSS) announcement yesterday that certain naive politicians intended to stifle Nigeria’s democracy and appoint a provisional administration.

The DSS claims that there was a scheme to establish an interim government in Nigeria, and some of the major participants have been identified.

It was learned that those in favor of an interim administration want to halt President Muhammadu Buhari’s transfer of power to President-elect Bola Tinubu, who the Independent National Election Commission just proclaimed the victor of the 2023 presidential election (INEC).

But, the DSS has termed such discussion as unlawful and wholly unacceptable in a democracy and among Nigerians who value peace.

According to the DSS’s spokesman, Dr. Peter Afunanya, the scheme being pursued by powerful interests is not just an anomaly but also a cunning attempt to disregard the constitution, weaken civil rule, and throw the nation into an unnecessary crisis.

This is made more worse, he said, since the election was conducted peacefully in the majority of the nation. Throughout their many meetings, the organizers have discussed a number of possibilities, some of which involve organizing violent mass demonstrations in key cities that would be sufficient to trigger the proclamation of a state of emergency.

Another (plan), according to him, “is to acquire frivolous judicial injunctions to prevent the inauguration of new executive administrations and legislative chambers at the federal and state levels.”

The DSS supports the president and commander-in-chief in his proclaimed commitment to a hitch-free handover and will diligently work in this direction, Afunanya said in a statement advising those involved to cease and desist from their preparations.

The Service, he said, works with sister security and law enforcement organizations to guarantee smooth inaugurations on May 29, 2023. It also helps the presidential transition council and other relevant state organizations.

The Service sternly cautioned individuals attempting to obstruct democracy in the nation to abandon their cunning plans and orchestrations as a result.

“Stakeholders are urged to exercise caution and watchfulness in order to prevent being used as tools to undermine the peace and stability of the country. This includes legal authorities, the media, and the civil society.

The DSS “would not hesitate to take decisive and appropriate legal actions against these misguided individuals while its surveillance continues in order to thwart their arrogant aims,” he stated.

After the revelation by the DSS that certain misguided politicians were preparing to create an interim administration, Bulama Bukarti, a security specialist based in the United Kingdom, issued a warning against plunging the nation into another June 12 crisis.

Every kind of governance other than one that is elected is unlawful and unconstitutional, according to Bukarti, and should be opposed.

He urged the DSS and other pertinent security organizations in the nation to thwart the scheme and hold the organizers accountable.

He also encouraged judges to use ex-parte rulings wisely in the national interest, noting how such court judgments helped the June 12 presidential election of 1993 be declared invalid.

IPAC Name, Arrest “Culprits”

Yabagi Sani, the national chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), has tasked the Service with identifying and apprehending people who are attempting to establish an interim government.

Yabagi announced this decision last night during an interview with Channels Television in Abuja.

He declared: “Taking the individual into custody and questioning them is the reasonable or legal thing to do, but for DSS to make this type of announcement is to further create some kind of stress or problem. It seems that we do not have control over the issue. I’m not saying you shouldn’t lock someone, just don’t lock them all the time. If you act morally, it could discourage others from doing the same.

“The law enforcement organization should show that no one is exempt from the rules. You know, if you start detaining opposition politicians, it may be seen as witch hunt. Have a look at what happened on January 6 in the USA when Trump sought to impede President-elect Joseph Biden’s inauguration; something occurred, and they took action.

Hence, even while we applaud the DSS’s efforts, in my opinion, they should do more since as citizens, what can we do? Our democracy is too valuable, and if anybody should be protecting it and advancing democracy, it is the institutions that have been set up to do so. Given that the organizations we are discussing are under the presidency, the police, DSS, and even the presidency have a part to play.

Maybe this is the right moment for Mr. President to speak. In response to a question about why such a worry should be raised at this time, he said it might be due to the dissatisfaction of some people in the country. However, security experts have called plans by errant politicians to erect an interim government and stifle democracy after the 2023 general elections a bluff.

Banjo Daniel, a public and private security analyst and trainer, said that without a court order or a coup d’état, it was difficult to impose any interim administration.

According to him, there was no basis for the action.

Installing an interim administration is not conceivable unless the court orders it. There is no other means to put in an interim administration. That is utterly impossible since INEC has already announced a winner, losers have filed lawsuits, and based on all signs, I don’t see the court invalidating the results because there isn’t any basis for doing so.

He encouraged the DSS to pursue and convict anyone implicated in the aforementioned scheme.

They are meant to suppress anything they have been able to learn discreetly; they are not allowed to discuss. What story are they referring to? Will a coup occur? The swearing in can only be stopped by a court order or a coup, he added.

Dr. Abdullahi Mohammed Jabi, a different security expert and the secretary-general of the International Institute of Professional Security (IIPS), said that anybody considering an interim administration should be put to death by firing squad.

He said: “Anybody thinking differently or attempting to truncate democracy that we all paid enormous price to preserve and hold in check against military intrusion, such a person should be handed summary death.”

He said that although there had been talk of an interim administration, the DSS was up to the role and would put an end to such a plan.

He asserts that the Nigerian people have chosen a government and that it should not be overthrown.

“The election is over, a victor has been declared, and against all odds, Nigeria will endure,” he continued.

They are Nigeria’s Enemy, says Sen. Adeyeye

Moreover, Sen. Adedayo Adeyeye, the national coordinator of South West Agenda for Asiwaju, has labeled those advocating the formation of an Interim National Government (ING) as “enemies of Nigeria.”

“Even before the primary elections, they were preparing for an Interim National Government,” claimed Senator Adeyeye. Even after the primaries, they wanted to make sure there would be no election; they wanted to start a crisis as part of their strategy.

And as you may know, a number of actions led to the crisis. So, their cries for the Interim National Government are not new.

We Won’t Accept Any Undemocratic Administration, PDP

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) national publicity secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, said that Nigerians would not tolerate any undemocratic administration masquerading as an interim national government.

Ologunagba noted that the PDP had already warned Nigerians of a scheme by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to establish an interim administration, and he declared that efforts to have a third term would be rejected.

Calls for an interim administration, according to him, are “totally unacceptable to our party and to Nigerians.” Never can we participate in it. As a democratic party, we have opposed it in the past and will do so again. Any attempt by the governing party to win a third term by unethical methods would be fought by us.

Also, the coalition of civil society organizations in Lagos had expressed displeasure at certain Nigerians who had called for the installation of an interim administration rather than giving the reins to president-elect Tinubu on May 29, 2023. They urged people not to criticize the results of the general elections in 2023 since doing so may weaken the democracy of the nation.

The coalition reminded Nigerians that the democracy their nation currently enjoys was not given to them on a silver platter, noting that some people gave their lives defending it while others suffered physical deformities as a result of the conflict and should, as a result, be wary of envy.

In the presence of Comrade Nelson Ekujumi of the Committee for Defence of People’s Mandate (CDPM), Titi Akosa of the Centre for 21st Century Issues, and others, the coalition’s convener, Comrade Rasaq Olokoba, declared that the organization was, to the honor of those who lost their lives fighting for democracy, pleading with those who were supporting anti-democratic tendencies to reconsider.

It is illogical, claims Shehu Sani

Senator Shehu Sani of Kaduna State spoke on the matter and referred to any notion of an interim national administration as absurd and foolish. furthermore stated.

“Interim National Government is ridiculous,” said Sani in a blog post that was reposted on Twitter.

However, several Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have agreed with IPAC’s viewpoint, stating that anybody who requests an interim government is acting in an undemocratic manner.

According to the CSOs who talked to LEADERSHIP, the election had already taken place, and anybody who was dissatisfied with the results should file a lawsuit with supporting documentation.

The CSOs are the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center, Transparency International, and the Transition Monitoring Group (CISLAC).

They said that the concept of an interim administration should not be supported in Nigeria, speaking via their leader Awwal Musa Rafsanjani.

We are aware that the election was held, but some individuals are determined to contest the results in court. But, this feature of individuals going to court to request an interim administration has nothing to do with the election. Democracy is not present. People have the right to file lawsuits if they have complaints.

Since it won’t deliver peace, the interim government shouldn’t be praised. Anybody who thinks they won the election should go to court and prove it, but it is undemocratic and unconstitutional for certain individuals to call for an interim administration.

He encouraged the DSS to make the necessary arrests of the offenders.

That is treason; FG and DSS must do out their duties, says Kokori

Such an idea should not be considered at all, according to Chief Frank Ovie Kokori, a former secretary general of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), who was in the vanguard of the implementation of the revoked June 12 mandate.

He declared: “If somebody is preparing anything else, it is treason, and it should be dealt that way. We had an election, and someone won. We are waiting for the swearing in. The nation is governed by laws.

The resentful politicians have filed a lawsuit. I am a democracy’s hero. We don’t need to train the DSS to perform their job since we already have them. I am a hero of the democratic movement; we are aware of the struggles we had in getting the military out of that area. You are unable to remove someone if the military enters. I don’t see the military being disbanded in modern-day Nigeria. The current administration and the DSS, in my opinion, should both perform their jobs.