The United States has revealed plan to sanction any Nigerian political leaders whose comments incite the people to violence pre and post general election. This was communicated to the press by the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, after meeting with Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, in Makurdi, the state capital on Thursday.
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Mr Symington cautioned politicians against giving illegal directives to manipulate the elections, charging them not to also take illegal orders from people in the name of President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to him, pollitical leaders have a responsibility of ensuring that the elections forth coming elections are free and fair.
The US envoy said, “The citizens are responsible to their God, second to their conscience and third to the laws of Nigeria, fourth to the court of public opinion in Nigeria and finally international law and the rest of us.
“If anybody asks you to do something that is not right and says the boss wants you to do it, or the person at the top wants you to do it, don’t believe him; because the person at the top is honestly saying they want to win a fair election. There is a reason not to believe them,” he said.
The US Ambassador further advised Nigerians not to believe those who may want to compromise the electoral process. He warned that people are responsible for their own actions.
He said in the few days to the election, people will say things irrespective of their intentions, “either to hate or to stir up violence”. He revealed that such people would be held to account.
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