#OurMumuDonDo Demands Mantu’s Prosecution

#OurMumuDonDo Demands Mantu’s Prosecution

A civil society group, “Ourmumudondo”, on Friday, visited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Abuja, demanding the prosecution of former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, for electoral malpractices.

Mr Mantu, in an interview on Channels Television, confessed to having rigged several elections.

He said that even though he was not actively involved in the rigging, he compromised election officials, security officers and even agents of rival parties to either assist in rigging candidates of the PDP to victory.

Explaining why he made this confession, he said he decided to confess now because he was tired of the negative perception Nigerians have abroad.

The PDP, however, reacting to this revelation, said Mr Mantu’s confession was based on personal activities in the elections he participated.

The group, in its letter, said his prosecution will demonstrate INEC’s stand to prosecute electoral offenders.

#Ourmumudondo said the number of Nigerians who go out to vote has been on a consistent decline due to rigging which infringes on the rights of the Nigerian people.

“It is therefore imperative that the electoral umpire, the INEC, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the law enforcement agencies, rise to this clarion call to prosecute senator Mantu and all his accomplices,” the group said according to a report by Punch.

A member of the group, Adebayo Raphael, said Nigerians have lost trust in the electoral system, and only proper actions like this can restore public confidence in the system.

Civil society organisations under the aegis of Transition Monitoring Group, also called on Nigerians to be vigilant during the 2019 general elections to avoid election rigging and other electoral irregularities.

The organisation called on INEC to monitor sources of campaigns funds of political parties in a statement by its chairperson, Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi.

He said, “As we wait for senator Mantu and his co-travellers in the business of rigging elections to discharge their moral burden, we call on all stakeholders to be vigilant as the 2019 electoral process shapes up.

“TMG makes no mistake about the fact that there are still vestiges of election riggers, who unlike senator Mantu, may just not be ready to confess their infractions on the laws of the land.”