Posted by By Sun News Publishing on
The international arm of the Orji Uzor Kalu Presidential Campaign Organisation has condemned the freezing of the Abia State governor's bank accounts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)" describing it as an "illegal extra-judicial action" which would not stand.
The international arm of the Orji Uzor Kalu Presidential Campaign Organisation has condemned the freezing of the Abia State governor's bank accounts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)" describing it as an "illegal extra-judicial action" which would not stand.
The campaigners, in a press statement released under the auspices of the Orji Kalu Presidential Campaign Organisation in the USA and the Diaspora (OUK 2007), said they were shocked at the extra judicial handedness which, according to them" was the current administration's attempt to strifle true democratic progress and open political competition in Nigeria.
Particularly, they alleged that the move was to frustrate the governor's bid for the presidency, noting, however, that if government succeeded in dampening the campaign within the country, "they cannot stop this campaign outside the shores of Nigeria.
They threathened to challenge the action legally, while urging EFCC to defreeze the accounts which included the organisation's immediately.
Below are the excerpts of the statement entitled: "Kalu, EFCC and The Bank Accounts Seizure."
"Just this past week ending February 24 2006, the Orji Kalu Presidential Campaign Organization in the USA and the Diaspora (OUK 2007), received information, that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has frozen the Bank Accounts of the Orji Kalu Presidential Campaign Organization in Nigeria, along with Governor Kalu's legitimate bank accounts, all without Judicial Authority.
'We in Orji Kalu's Presidential Campaign Organization in the USA, which is made up Nigerian-born persons that are resident in the USA and elsewhere, hereby vehemently oppose and condemn this illegal extra-judicial action by the EFCC.
'In any common-law legal system in the world, including Nigeria, Bank accounts of individuals and corporate organizations, enjoy the full protection of the law, under property rights. Property rights ensure that government cannot arbitrarily take away a person's property (whether corporate persons or individuals), without due process of law, or a full judicial process.
'No judicial process has been witnessed, or was conducted prior to the seizure of these accounts. These funds have not been proven in a court of law to be illegitimately acquired. Instead, what we are seeing here is a major illegal attempt to muzzle the legitimate aspirations of a candidate for the presidency of Nigeria. It is not a crime to aspire to the presidency of Nigeria.
'The seizures of these accounts constitute a blatant extra-judicial action, from those who wield the instruments of state power, in order to deny a citizen of Nigeria his inalienable right to run for president. This should not stand.
'Today Orji Kalu's presidential campaign is about to be thwarted in a blatant way, but tomorrow it could be someone else's. What is going on here? Are we reliving the dictatorships of yesteryears? We implore all reasonably minded Nigerians to question this blatant action.
'Because it has come to this, we want to put the EFCC, as the agent of the state, on notice, that its extra-judicial action in freezing these accounts will not stop this campaign. While EFCC and this administration can take this form of extra-judicial action inside Nigeria, in defiance of the laws of the land, they cannot stop this campaign outside the shores of Nigeria.
'For the records, Orji Kalu's campaign has become a global project for Nigeria's 2007 elections. As stated earlier, Kalu's Presidential Campaign Organization has within its ranks Nigerian citizens scattered in every Nigerian community in the world, from the USA, to the UK, across Europe, Asia, and the ECOWAS community. Therefore, no amount of intimidation will stop this campaign.
'On a final note, we will only accept defeat in 2007 at the ballot box. Other than the ballot box, this campaign will run its course without intimidation, fear, threats, and cajoling. We will also put the world on notice about this attempt to stifle a legitimate presidential campaign through extra-judicial actions like this. We will pass the word from Abuja to Washington DC, London, Paris, Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, Pretoria and everywhere else in between."
We will also pursue the release of these accounts through the courts in Nigeria. But in the meantime, we expect the EFCC to do the right thing and defreeze these accounts quickly; it's the right thing to do. This administration needs to do its part, to ensure a free and fair election in Africa's most populous country, that is all we seek.
Signed: