We the global human right watchdogs, Armesty International, Kogi State: the beamlight, searchlight, gins and magic lamp for United Nation Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nation Human Right Council, United Nation Security Council and International Criminal Court of Justice, working to protect Human Rights worldwide, today being 3rd of October 2025 is conducting a press conference on democratic journey and assessments in Nigeria to determine how Nigerians survive under the democratic government, their safety and level of human right protections, the rule of law in Nigeria and how democratic system of government is performing in Nigeria.In view of this, we welcome all the dignitaries and illustrious sons and daughters of Kogi State to this press conference especially the people from Kogi Central Senatorial District, who are showing grievances over the ways and manners their distinguished Senator, Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan was illegally suspended.
The suspension characterized and replete with brigade approach. Also, it is very important at this juncture and highly imperative to recognize the gentlemen of the press, who are well known playing vital roles for the sustenance and development of democracy in Nigeria. Indeed, Nigerian journalists deserve adequate immunity to properly ensure the Right to life in the course of discharging their statutory duties in Nigeria. The death of Dele Giwa, one of the foremost popular journalists in the country should mark the epoch to terminate violence against press men in Nigeria. Therefore, the killing of Dele Giwa is considered enough to pay all the prices against all sort of violence and intimidations to salvage the field of journalism. In view of this, we call on the legislative arm of government in Nigeria as a matter of urgency to pass a bill of right and immunity into law in order to protect our newsmen and women. Armesty International will continue to partner and support Nigeria Union of Journalists, especially in the area of rights protection.Ladies and gentlemen, it becomes sacrosanct to always put democracy under review, criticism, and scrutiny or at any time tick, and it is our sole duty to do so. Politics is a collective responsibility, politics is not a monopolistic business or a black market business that have to be pocketed by few individuals in the society. Politics especially democracy is all about contemporary ideals. Democracy is a modern system of government introduced in 1900 by the International Political Science Association (IPSA) and American government. Politics is all about government, political party, pressure group or human right organization and International Relation. Therefore, politics is defined as a systematic study of political life that runs under the basic human relation such as equality, justice, freedom and power. In view of this, to evaluate democratic situation in Nigeria, it becomes necessary to assess the separation of power playing vital roles in the theatre of democracy, especially the electoral umpire, the judiciary and civil society (human right organization) effectiveness, to check improvement and shortcomings of governance to be evaluated as the case maybe.Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that you may agree with me that peoples’ destinies are tied to politics and when politics is not properly played according to rules and regulation, it has a greater multiplication effect on life socially and economically inherently characterized insecurities, fraudulence, corruption, terrorism, banditry and criminalities and other vices etc.Moreover, the assessment or overview of electoral umpire and the conducts of elections some years back, when system of election in Nigeria was upgraded to ICT automation system, take for instance, when card reader was introduced and later Bi-Modal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS), the prototype of digital voting Paraphernalia to synchronize with various ICT digital equipment on net, can be criticized and questionable based on intelligence gathering – that in 2015, the conduct of election using card reader suffered serious setback due to network failures, the card reader machines on the day of election in many places recorded hangup and malfunctions, infact it takes the Grace of God before the then President, President Goodluck Jonathan could vote in his polling unit at Otuekpe in Bayelsa State. Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) appeared to lack proper expertise intelligence report on network technical situations prior to the day of election which actually contributed rifts and rancours on election day – where malpractices of vote buying, rigging of election thuggery due to involvement of manual voting in many places which eventually bred wrong candidates to the political authority. Also the BVAS flip and flops situations whereby the INEC portal found not accessible during 2023 general election by Nigerians constituted a lacuna in the conduct of election in Nigeria. Though, many aggrieved candidates went to court to collect their mandates back and many popular candidates as well lost their mandates.In addition, what we are trying to establish here was due to the failures and the improper conduct of elections which keeps bringing wrong candidates to the helm of political affairs. Based on the assessment, wrong candidates or those who do not participate in primary elections and can work their ways through the means of litigation to achieve success are usually found as threats to democratic best practices due to the facts that they can always disobey laws in the country. In most cases, they freely violate fundamental human rights and indulge in all manner of actions capable to ignite crisis.Failures in the conduct of proper elections in political sector are threats and temptations to the Judicial cycle, especially in the areas of corruption and insecurity of jobs. Since litigation can be negatively influenced by the executive arm of government which control appointments and funds. We suggest or advocate that internal democracy should begin to be applied in nominating or selecting who held INEC or Judiciary in Nigeria and the process should involve human right organizations and Nigeria Bar Association.Therefore, democracy in Nigeria has room for improvements and electoral umpire need more expertise ICT information in the area of automation system for proper conduct of elections to actualize growth, peace and developments in Nigeria. Moreover, civil society or human right organizations are considered fulcrum and foundation of democracy – they are equally charged to live up to expectations in order to have what it takes to stabilize democracy through effective criticism, advocacy, security and democratic education to help politicians. These are obtainable when the civil society groups can do exploits in the areas of certain disciplines such as: human rights law, international law, constitutional law, administrative law, peace and conflict resolution, democratic and security education.More still, we charge the INEC to intensify efforts and exploits in the areas of modern automation means in the conduct of elections in Nigeria, where the power of technology will eradicate vote buying, thuggery, multiple voting and excess spending in election and INEC ability to conduct elections that will take the nation to its citadel of democracy. Election can be conducted online, whereby INEC can open portal on election day and people can vote through their phones while on transits, in offices or in their various comfort zones.The political parties can be digitalized where every political party’s emblem to have a specific code to click upon by voters from their phones and send online for automatic processing and immediately the voters are made to see their votes count and every citizen can know who is leading when election is in progress and who won after election will be known immediately. With the help of science and technology, Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN) remains the powerful keys to aid Artificial Intelligence application. People have done much exploits in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to develop useful applications for the conduct of credible elections. Also, we have many people in Nigeria who can develop AI applications to conduct credible election for Nigerians. Archaic and obsolete means of conducting elections can always breed wrong candidates to the helm of political affairs, usually aided by selection power, instead of election, power of guns and bullets, instead of better approach necessary for Online Automation Ballot System (OABS) to eradicate vote buying, thuggery and political crisis.It is not only necessary but very important at this point, to xray the democratic view of leadership in three (3) arms of government. Also the system of power separation must work hand in hand effectively in order to deliver without conflicts or domineering tendencies. Every sector of arm of government is saddled with the responsibility as permitted by law freely, and every arm of government must maintain peace and orderliness within its jurisdiction. On this note, we condemn the usual crisis within the house of senate and the illegal means of suspending, distinguished senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by brigade approach – void of normal administrative protocols. We therefore, call for the rejigging of the rules of engagement that subsists on the floors of the House of Senate and House of Representatives, thereby incorporating human right principles into the rules of engagement; the strength of democracy in Nigeria to foster peace, unity and progress. That Nigerians are not interested in political rivalry in the senate than the senate that can deliver on their legislative assignments to take Nigeria to high pedestrial and state of eldorado. Nigeria at sixty-five (65) years of independence that boast to be giant of Africa, should have plans on how they can be manufacturing computers, aeroplanes, cars etc from excess monies the country is making from multiple taxations, loans and other means of generating funds, part of these funds be used in sending their youths to many advance countries to acquire technical education and transfer of technical knowledge to Nigerians teaming youths just the way many Asia countries did through effective legislative system in the recent time, has advanced them technologically and kept empowering their nations, and not capitalized on encouraging presidency to keep borrowing loans around the world where their unborn generation can be made as slaves, they don’t legislate to aid multiple taxations to reduce members of their citizens, rather they empower their citizens with grants for self reliance and employments.In conclusion, the executive arm of government should see democracy as government of the people, by the people and for the people and not to see democracy as personal belongings, the modules operandi of democratic government do not runs on dictatorship, it is on record that the society has the rights to suggest what they want, while the executive arm of government will execute only what the public wants and not the personal desires of government on public. That every right of the citizens should always counts and to be protected, no government has any legal right to keep looting public funds. Also, the executive arm of government should be made to understand the indebt meaning of democratic system of government and it’s basic tenets. Every citizen in the world since 1948 by United Nations declaration carry global immunity popularly known as human rights regardless of their geographical locations which should be respected and not to be violated, that human rights law supersedes the legal framework of any state and every citizen should be seen as global citizen and not only the citizen of his country.In addition, we advocate that women should be allowed to hold many leadership positions in offices, gender equality in Nigeria has not fully taken its full course in Nigeria democracy. Any nation which do not consider women in the scheme of things either politically or economically hardly progress. In the Genesis, the law of equality noticed in the Garden of Eden, it is one man and one woman, that is exactly what democracy should reflect and when the peace and progress is to be brought into the entire world, the role of woman was noticed before Jesus Christ was born. Also, the country that colonized many powerful countries including America is headed by woman, that is one of the reasons it was name Great Britain. The problems of Nigeria can die natural death when there is political “minus and plus formular” taking place and when women begin to have political equal right with men, such approach can naturally reduce crime such as: terrorism, banditry, corruption, thuggery, crisis etc and Nigeria will regain back her lost glory once again.Thanks for your cooperation and God bless Federal Republic of Nigeria.Comr. Sunday Jatto Director, Armesty International(Kogi State).