A coalition of civil society groups, Govindex Leadership Empowerment and Leadership Foundation, has reported former Minister of Aviation Femi Fani-Kayode; Lagos Garages Manager Musliu Akinsanyo (aka MC Olumo) and Director of Media and Publicity, APC Campaign Council, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, to the Department of State Services (DSS) for alleged hate speech and conspiracy to incite hatred and instigate ethnic cleansing against Igbo. The two others are social media influencer Reno Omokri and The Nation Editorial Board Chairman Sam Omatseye.
In their petition copied to the United States and Canadian embassies submitted to the DSS on Monday, Govindex asked the DSS to invite Fani-Kayode, Omokri, Onanuga, MC Oluomo and Omatseye for questioning and investigation. In the petition by Ikechukwu Ezechukwu, SAN & Co, the group said the individuals involved had persistently engaged in intentional communications to cause ethnic conflict and incite violence in Nigeria, particularly against Igbo and the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi’s supporters.
The petition partly reads: “MC Oluomo was seen in a video which went viral on social media, warning Nigerians who did not intend to vote for All Progressives Party (APC) in the president tial election to stay away and not attend their polling unit on the Election Day.
In the viral video, MC Oluomo was seen saying: ‘We have begged them. If they don’t want to vote for us, it is not a fight. Tell them, Mama Chukwudi, if you don’t want to vote for us, sit down at home’. “In a similar video and inspired by the likes of MC Oluomo and Fani-Kayode, a group of APC supporters were seen on the streets of Lagos warning Nigerians not to attend their polling units if they did not intend to vote for the APC. “ In another video, Igbo were prevented from exercising their franchise in a particular polling unit in Lagos, while some Nigerians reported on Twitter and Facebook that they were disenfranchised, attacked and prevented from voting in Lagos because they looked like Igbo.”
