Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


        Nigeria's Opposition APC Implicates Ruling Party in Office Raid

   by James Butty

   Nigeria's main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) party said
   security forces raided its Lagos offices Saturday, destroying more than
   a dozen party computers and documents.

   The Nigerian State Security Service (SSS) reportedly confirmed the
   raid, but said it was investigating an alleged duplication of voters'
   cards currently being issued by the independent Electoral Commission
   for next year's general elections.

   APC spokesman Lai Mohammed likened the invasion to the Watergate
   scandal leading to the resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon in
   1974.

   He accused the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of ordering the
   raid to "illegally" get hold of APC voter registration strength.

   "You may wish to remember that, a couple of months ago, our party
   embarked on a nationwide registration exercise in which several
   millions of Nigerians were registered as members of our party.  We
   subsequently set up six centers all over the country to input and
   gather all the information, so that we can have the data base. It is
   one of these data offices in Lagos that the security agents invaded,"
   he said.

   Mohammed said that if the government had any information of illegal
   activities, it should have obtained a court order to search the
   premises.

   "The official explanation by the government is that they had
   information that we were using that office to print illegal voters'
   card[s]. And, I questioned it and said, `Why didn't you go to court and
   get a court order to make a search? Why would you come in the middle of
   the night armed to the teeth, intimidating and harassing our staff and
   carting our information?'" Mohammed said.

   He said the APC will sue the federal government for damages.  He also
   called for an independent investigation.

   Olisa Metuh, national publicity secretary of the PDP, said the APC is
   crying wolf because it has no winnable message for the people of
   Nigeria ahead of the 2015 general elections.

   "The APC has not been able to get its message across to Nigerians on
   what they stand for and what they want to change, and they've engaged
   in the past few months [in] diversionary tactics, crying wolf and
   making imaginary cases," Metuh said.

   Mohammed described as unfortunate last Thursday's incident when Speaker
   Aminu Tambuwal of Nigeria's parliament was tear gassed as police tried
   to stop him and other members from entering the parliament.

   He accused President Goodluck Jonathan of ordering security forces to
   arrest the speaker.

   "The president is so desperate for re-election that he would stop at
   nothing to be re-elected. He was the one who asked the speaker of the
   House [of Representatives] to reconvene to debate his own request for
   extension of the state of emergency in three northeastern states.  Yet,
   it was his own police that ambushed the speaker and prevented him from
   getting access into chambers until the members forced their way into
   the national assembly," Mohammed said.


     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/nigeria-opposition-apc-implicates-rul
   ing-party-in-office-raid/2531807.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/nigeria-opposition-apc-implicates-ruling-party-in-office-raid/2531807.html