Nigeria: US imposes visa ban on Nigeria’s 2019 election riggers
By Chinyere Ogbonna- The United States (U.S.) Department has imposed visa restrictions on some Nigerians who are believed to be involved in trying to undermine democratic process in the recently concluded Nigeria’s 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections.
It explained that the individuals affected by the ban, who have not been identified, operated with impunity at the expense of Nigerians and undermined democratic principles and human rights.
Those affected include individuals indicted for rigging, electoral violence, and other anti-democratic activities before, during and after the 2019 general polls.
The spokesman for the US Department of State, Morgan Ortagus, who made this public in a statement in Washington on Tuesday, July 23rd, 2019, explained that the visa restrictions would affect Nigerians believed to be responsible for undermining democracy in Nigeria.
According to Ortagus, the US had earlier warned in its statement on January 24, 2019 that the American government would consider consequences – including visa restrictions – for individuals responsible for undermining the Nigerian democratic process or involved in election-related violence.
The statement reads partly, “To that end, the Secretary of State is imposing visa restrictions on Nigerians believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Nigeria.
“These individuals have operated with impunity at the expense of the Nigerian people and undermined democratic principles and human rights. “The Department of State emphasises that the actions announced today are specific to certain individuals and not directed at the Nigerian people or the newly elected government.
“This decision reflects the Department of State’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to realise its expressed commitment to end corruption and strengthen democracy, accountability, and respect for human rights.”
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari won a second term in office in February in an election characterized by logistics problems, violence which resulted to loss of lives of some Nigerians.
The department, however, did not make public the list of those affected by the visa ban public or say how many were affected by the visa ban, but it clearly pointed out that it was for those who undermined the electoral process.
The Spokesperson of the department, Organ Ortagus, said: “These individuals have operated with impunity at the expense of the Nigerian people and undermined democratic principles and human rights.
The US insisted that it was a steadfast supporter of Nigerian democracy and commended all those who participated peacefully in the February and March 2019 elections and have worked to strengthen democratic institutions and processes in the country.
