At a public lecture delivered at the Chartham
House in London last month, the National
Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki disclosed
that he had “advised” the Independent National
Electoral Commission to postpone the election.
The reason adduced then for the unsolicited
advice was that the INEC needed time to
distribute permanent voters’ cards to all
registered voters. As an adviser to the President
on national security the NSA has no powers
whatsoever to give directives or advice to the
INEC. Indeed, there is no statutory nexus
between the INEC and the NSA to warrant the
purported demand for the postponement of the
General Election. To that extent, the NSA acted
illegally. The INEC rightly rejected the
unwarranted interference from the NSA.
But as soon as the INEC announced that all
arrangements had been put in place for the
distribution of the remaining permanent voters
cards in readiness for the February 14 election
the NSA began to sing a different tune. At that
juncture, President Goodluck Jonathan convened
a meeting of the Council of State. The NSA and the
security chiefs were curiously invited to the
meeting with a view to convincing the Council
members to endorse the postponement of the
election. To their utter dismay, they failed to
achieve the illegal objective as the Council
declined to support the postponement of the
election. The Presidency had wanted the advisory
body to usurp the constitutional duty of INEC by
taking a “decision” on the postponement of the
election.
In a desperate bid to blackmail the INEC to
postpone the election the NSA wrote a letter to
the INEC to the effect that the armed forces could
not provide security for the election because of
the operations in the north east region. By writing
directly to the INEC on the security situation in
the north east region the NSA usurped the
functions of the National Security Council. That is
the only body that has the constitutional duty to
“advise the President on matters relating to public
security including matters relating to any
organization or agency established by law for
ensuring the security of the Federation.” The
Council which is established under section 153 of
the Constitution is comprised of the President,
Vice-President, the a Defence Minister, Chief of
defence staff, minister of interior, minister of
foreign affairs, inspector-General of police and
national security adviser.
It is pertinent to point out that the security chiefs
are not members of the National Security Council.
Neither are they members of the Nigeria Police
Council. Therefore, they lack the constitutional
power to make any authoritative pronouncement
on the security of the nation. Even though the
NSA is a member of the National Security Council
he cannot usurp the constitutional responsibilities
of the body with the connivance of the service
chiefs. Since the NSA and the service chiefs acted
illegally and mala fide the INEC ought to have
rejected their politically motivated request for the
postponement of the Election. The reliance on
section 25 of the Electoral Act by Professor
Attahiru Jega, the INEC chairman is totally
misleading. The provision does not support the
postponement of a general election in the entire
country but “in the area or areas” where there is
violence or actual threat of a breakdown of law
and order.
Since the reason for the postponement of any
election must be “cogent and verifiable” it is
crystal clear from the press conference addressed
by Professor Jega last night that the INEC did not
verify the bogus claim of the NSA and the security
chiefs as required by the law. By saying that they
would not provide security in aid of civil
authorities pursuant to section 217 of the
Constitution the security chiefs have committed
the offence of mutiny contrary to section 52 of
the armed Forces Act. Contrary to the mistaken
belief of the INEC leadership the armed forces
have no role to play in the electoral process.
Since it is the exclusive constitutional
responsibility of the Nigeria Police Force to
maintain law and order during elections the INEC
should have called off the bluff of the security
chiefs. More so, that the Inspector-General of
Police had confirmed the readiness of the Police
to provide security for the election. Just last week,
the federal high court sitting in Sokoto declared
illegal and unconstitutional the involvement of
soldiers in election duties. That judgment is
binding on all authorities and persons in Nigeria.
It is pertinent to point out that the postponement
of a General Election throughout the country is
provided for under section 135(3) of the
Constitution where it is stated that “If the
Federation is at war in which the territory of
Nigeria is physically involved and the President
considers that it is not practicable to hold
elections, the National Assembly may by
resolution extend the period of four years
mentioned in subsection (2) of this section from
time to time, but no such extension shall exceed a
period of six months at any one time.” Since the
President could not persuade the National
Assembly to pass a resolution for tenure
elongation on spurious grounds the service chiefs
allowed themselves to be manipulated to subvert
the democratic process. Thus, by causing the
election to be postponed, the NSA and the
security chiefs have staged a coup against the
Constitution. They are liable to be prosecuted for
the grave offence of treason at the appropriate
time.
If the satanic Boko Haram sect is not defeated by
the armed forces of the republics of Chad,
Cameroon and Niger in the next six weeks, the
security chiefs are likely to ask for another
postponement of the General Election on the
ground that the operations in the north east
region have not been successfully concluded. As
such extension cannot be accommodated under
the Electoral Act and the Constitution, the
democratic process may be terminated by the
security chiefs to pave way for the much touted
INTERIM NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. Since some of
the Colonels who played a dominant role in the
criminal annulment of the June 12, 1993
presidential election have taken over the security
of the country, the democratic forces in Nigeria
should be prepared for a long drawn out battle
for the restoration of civil rule. In the
circumstance, I am compelled to urge Nigerians to
beware of the “Ides of March”.

http://saharareporters.com/2015/02/08/election-postponement-nsa-dss-and-military-chiefs-commit-treason-coup-plotting--falana