Tom Marino, US Congressman fantastically blasts Buhari's autocratic leadership style and his selective prosecution on the war against corruption

An individual from the United States Congress, Tom Marino, has composed a letter to Secretary of State, John Kerry, requesting that the US government withhold security help to Nigeria until President Muhammadu Buhari exhibits a guarantee to comprehensive government and the most fundamental principles of popular government: freedom to gather and the right to speak freely.

He additionally requested that the State Department abstain from offering warplanes and other military hardware to Nigeria until President Buhari sets up a reputation of working towards incorporation.

In a two-page letter dated September 1, 2016 and tended to Kerry, a duplicate of which was solely gotten by THISDAY yesterday, Marino, a Republican from Pennsylvania who assumed office on January 3, 2011, said there were various cautioning signs rising in the Buhari regime that flag the man who once drove Nigeria as a military tyrant may slide towards previous despotic propensities.

The Congressman, who happens to be a member from of the Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs, and the Chairman, Sub-committe on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law, stressed that Nigerian government must “hold accountable those members of the Nigerian Police Force and the Nigerian Military complicit in extra-judicial killings and war crimes”.

In the six-passage letter to Kerry, Marino likewise communicated worry over Nigeria's government fight against corruption, lamenting that “of additional concern is President Buhari’s selective anti-corruption drive, which has focused almost exclusively on members of the opposition party, over-looking corruption amongst some of Buhari’s closest advisors. Politicizing his anti-corruption efforts has only reinforced hostility among southerners”.

Details of his letter to Kerry peruses: “Dear Secretary Kerry, I am encouraged by the personal interest you have taken in aiding Nigeria and its administration as it takes on endemic corruption, multiple insurgent movements, and a faltering economy. However, I believe there are a number of warning signs emerging in the Buhari administration that signal “the man who once led Nigeria as a military dictator might be sliding towards former autocratic tendencies.”

“I would urge the U.S. to withhold its security assistance to the nation until President Buhari demonstrates a commitment to inclusive government and the most basic tenets of democracy: freedom to assemble and freedom of speech. A logical start towards this commitment is for the Nigerian government to hold accountable those members of the Nigerian Police Force and the Nigerian Military complicit in extra-judicial killings and war crimes”.

“Human rights groups like Amnesty International have widely documented torture, inhumane treatment, and extra-judicial killings of defenseless Nigerians since President Buhari took office.”

Citing Amnesty International Report, he composed, “in the last six months, Nigeria’s military has unlawfully killed at least 350 people and allowed more than 168 people, including babies and children, to die in military detention.”

He went further to write that: “The Secretary to the Government of Kaduna State even admitted to burying 347 of those killed in a mass grave. And while President Buhari promised swift condemnation, his words rang empty. Instead of swift reforms, Buhari chose to reinstate Major General Ahmadu Mohammed, who Amnesty International revealed was in charge of the Nigerian military unit that executed more than 640 unarmed, former detainees.

“Also, in separate incidents concerning the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Nigerian Army has killed at least 36 – the real number is likely higher – people since December 2015 in an attempt to silence opposition and quell attempts by the group to gather publicly.”

Portraying President Buhari as a previous military tyrant whose rule (as military head of state) was stopped by a coup, he expressed that the President has ceaselessly evaded inclusivity for encompassing himself with advisors and ministers from the north of the nation and the area he considers home.

"Of President Buhari's 122 assistants, 77 are from the north and control huge numbers of the key services and positions of power. Doubt is as of now high in Nigeria and favouring Northerners for key engagements has just provoked the issue. These engagements are likewise essentially Muslim in the north and Christian in the south, adding a religious perspective to long-held local inclinations.

He also claimed in the letter that “Of additional concern is President Buhari’s selective anti-corruption drive, which has focused almost exclusively on members of the opposition party, over-looking corruption amongst some of Buhari’s closest advisors. Politicizing his anti-corruption efforts has only reinforced hostility among southerners.”

He said the Obama Administration would propel equity by asking the Buhari Administration to act unequivocally to hold responsible individuals from the police and military.

The congressman went to emphasize that, “This is a logical first step in making a demonstrable, sustained commitment to inclusive democracy, with distributed power in Nigeria. Until President Buhari establishes a track record of working towards inclusion, we ask the State Department to refrain from selling warplanes and other military equipment to the country.

“The State Department should urge President Buhari to form a government that represents the diversity of its citizens and allows dissenting voices to be heard. Democracy can thrive only if people are free to assemble, to express their beliefs, and voice their concerns.”