Amupitan’s harassment: Lawyer wants UK to Prosecute Culprits

An Abuja-based lawyer, Mr Funso Fayomi, has condemned what he described as the “shameful harassment” of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Joash Amupitan (SAN), at Chatham House in London.

In a statement on Saturday, Fayomi said Amupitan was “attacked, blocked, harassed and subjected to degrading public humiliation” on Thursday while attending an event at the London think tank, on an invitation to take part in an intellectual discourse.

Fayomi said he was speaking “not as a politician, not as a partisan”, but as a Nigerian citizen, a lawyer and a patriot.

READ Why the Campaign Against Joash Ojo Amupitan Misses the Point

He dismissed the incident as neither a protest nor an exercise in free speech, describing it as “a well-rehearsed, well-funded and well-scripted hatchet job” by “unscrupulous politicians and their hired agents”.

According to him, the perpetrators, having failed to defeat an idea “in the marketplace of reason”, resorted to mob intimidation to embarrass the INEC chairman and ridicule the country.

“It was an assault on the dignity of Nigeria,” he said.

Fayomi argued that Amupitan did not travel to London as a private citizen, but as the custodian of the ballot and the symbol of the nation’s democracy. He said blocking and shouting him down in a foreign land amounted to desecrating “the very altar of our nationhood”.

The lawyer added that the INEC chairmanship is a constitutional office “clothed with dignity” and protected by law. Treating its occupant “like a fugitive”, he said, is morally reprehensible, legally indefensible and offensive to the principles of diplomatic courtesy and the rule of law.

He demanded to know who scripted and financed the episode, and who stood to benefit from “dragging the good name of Nigeria through the mud”.

Warning the alleged sponsors, he said: “You cannot love Nigeria and hate its institutions. You cannot aspire to lead a nation you are determined to humiliate before the world.”

The lawyer called on the British authorities to investigate the incident and ensure that those responsible “face the full weight of the law.”

He also urged the Federal Government to lodge a formal diplomatic protest and demand firm assurances for the safety, dignity and freedom of movement of Nigerian officials on legitimate assignments abroad; and

Fayomi enjoined Nigerians Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to rise above party lines and condemn the act.

“If we allow the Chief Electoral Umpire to be humiliated today, no Nigerian leader, no Nigerian institution and no Nigerian citizen will be safe tomorrow,” he warned.

Describing Amupitan as “a man of learning” and “proven integrity”, Fayomi said the INEC chairman deserved protection, not persecution.

He declared his support for the INEC chairman and the commission, and insisted that the episode would not deter the nation’s democracy but would “strengthen our resolve to defend our institutions”.