TD The controversy surrounding Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election has resurfaced, with human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe describing the process that produced President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as president, as “not election observation, but a crime watch.”
Speaking on a recorded platform, Ogebe lamented the failures of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its IREF.
He accused the electoral body of deliberately failing to upload presidential election results while successfully uploading National Assembly results conducted simultaneously.
“Coming out to vote, to see that the results were not uploaded…
“The results for the national assembly elections were able to be uploaded.
“But the presidential election results were not uploaded.
“And to this day, as we speak, the results have not even been completely uploaded,” Ogebe lamented.
He further alleged that INEC’s portal contained bizarre uploads, including photographs of individuals—such as a woman in a bathroom—purportedly presented as election results.
“What is even shocking is that we have seen photographs of individuals, a woman in a bathroom, uploaded, supposedly as results, on INEC’s IREF page to this day.
“How can you elect someone on the basis of the photograph of a woman in the bathroom?” he asked, calling the situation a mockery of democracy.
Disenchantment, Impunity
Ogebe noted that over 144,000 observers, including four former African presidents, were deployed across Nigeria, yet many left disenchanted by what they witnessed.
He likened the exercise to watching “a crime being perpetrated on a country of 200 million people with utter and complete impunity.”
Drawing historical parallels, Ogebe recalled former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s disillusionment with Nigerian elections decades ago.
Carter, after observing widespread malpractice, vowed never to return.
“As that distinguished president is in hospice care, he stands vindicated because Nigeria has refused to learn this lesson,” Ogebe said.
Lawyer Condemns ECOWAS
Meanwhile, lawyer E.P. Aninze Esq. reacted sharply to ECOWAS’s role.
He questioned why the regional body awarded Nigeria’s President Tinubu the chairmanship despite alleged irregularities.
“So, ECOWAS knew that Nigeria’s 2023 election was rigged, yet they still rewarded President Tinubu with the chairmanship of the organization?
“Why keep quiet then, only to start speaking now? Clowns,” Aninze wrote.
The remarks highlight growing frustration among Nigerians and observers who believe ECOWAS failed to uphold democratic standards, instead legitimizing a disputed election.
As criticism mounts, questions remain about the credibility of regional institutions and their commitment to safeguarding democracy in West Africa.
