A civil society organisation, Youth Empowerment Solutions (YES) said it was working on plans to petition the International Criminal Court against perpetrators and sponsors of violence in the general election.
Mr Oche-Precious Edeh, the convener of the group, disclosed this on Monday while briefing newsmen on the group’s I Stand for Peace Campaign in Abuja. Edeh said that the measure was adopted in order to guard against violence before, during and after the general elections. “Às a deterrence to violence, we shall be tracking and calling out those who sponsor violence and those who carry out the act and we shall be urging the international community including the International Criminal Court (ICC). “This is for them to take notice and not hesitate to sanction any political actor, candidate, political party and their sponsors who promote violence and undertake any of such. “We will also be monitoring those who alter statements that can instigate violence before, during and after the elections.’’he said. According to Edeh, it is now four years since the 2015 elections and it was predicted by many that Nigeria was doomed because it would end in war. He said that the prediction failed because civil society intervened and Nigerians united for a peaceful election. He said that another round of elections was around the corner and urged Nigerians to choose the path of peace as they did before so as not to jeopardise the stability of the country. ALSO “The YES project in conjunction with New Nigeria Project (NNP) Arewa Transformation and Empowerment Initiative(ATEI),Grassroots Initiative for Peace and Productivity (GRIPP), among others, decided to embark on campaign tour of the country: Tagged I Stand for Peace.” “It is an innovation driven nationwide peace awareness and sensitisation campaign designed to raise national consciousness that will engender peace building during the elections with focus on social media. “The campaign with the hash tag #Istand4peace will among other things seek to enlist the collective action of Nigerians against intra-national violence and division instigated by ethnicity, religion and political sentiments.’’ Edeh called on youths to shun violence and urged elder statesmen, religious and traditional leaders, political actors and Nigerians to replace love for power with love for peace. Pastor Osere Daniel, Board Member, YES, said that ethnicity and religion were not what divided a nation but differences in interest and all interest should be on peace. Daniel said that elections would come and go but Nigeria would remain; so, the interest of a nation should be upheld above self interest for the sake of democracy. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the group aims to promote peace and non-violent environment toward the general elections and would send observers across the country to monitor the process.
