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Elections 2019: Incite violence, get visa ban, forfeit assets - UK to politicians


- Catriona Laing, the British high commissioner to Nigeria, has warned that politicians who incite violence in the forthcoming elections will no longer be issued visas
- Laing said the assets of such politicians in the UK would also be seized and they could experience a worst case scenario of prosecution
- The American ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, also stated that time had come for the outside world that cares so much about Nigeria, to listen to its people
- Country director of Open Society for West Africa, Jude Illoh, however, assured that come the morning after the elections, Nigeria would be standing proudly
The British high commissioner to Nigeria, Ms Catriona Laing, has warned that Nigerian politicians who incite or execute violence during the Saturday, February 16 elections, would be banned from visa issuance and have their assets in the UK seized.
Laing gave the warning at a press briefing on Wednesday, February 13, in Abuja to unveil the Election Situation Room of the Civil Society Situation Room set up by a coalition of civil society organisations to monitor the polls in Abuja, NAN reports.
“We will apply this absolutely across board, not directed to any particular party; so, we are monitoring and looking out for hate speech.
“We are concerned about the Peoples Democratic Party rally which has hate speech a lot and we will like to call that kind of thing out.
“Our two worries are on security, not just on the role the police will play to ensure peace, but about the role individuals play by getting angry or militias being paid to disrupt elections.
“Then, another worry is fake news, that is why we rely on CSOs and we will work with them to get information,” she said
UN secretary-general for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, thanked the CSOs for the launch of the situation room, describing it as a good work toward the elections.
Ibn Chambas said that it showed that the groups were prepared for the elections and ready to monitor the voting process, thus helping UN with ideas on the process in the country.
The American ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, said that the special thing with the room was not just about what CSOs would say and do, but also about what every Nigerian would say and do.

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