Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.
April 19, 2007

Outdoor Political Rallies Banned in Nigerian Presidential Elections
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1720B0E:A6F02AD83191E16010FD6A52D43108FC9574F7DCC14957C0 Opposition
cries foul; government threatens curfews in some states Nigerian
police have announced a ban on all rallies and processions nationwide
prior to Saturday’s elections. At the same time, authorities are
threatening to impose curfews on states where election-related
violence continues.

VOA reporter Chinedu Offor is following the story. From Lagos, he
spoke to VOA English to Africa Service reporter Joe De Capua.

“According to President Olusegun Obasanjo, there are activities that
threaten national peace and security. He has said that in some
states…those he (Obasanjo) described as miscreants…and those who want
to take the law into their own hands plan mass rallies that may turn
violent. So, he’s saying the government has a responsibility to
maintain law and order. And if necessary, the government plans to
impose curfew on those states.

“Also, the inspector general of police…has said that police plan to
maintain a ban on all processions, all rallies on all election-related
activities. And all kinds of political activities should be confined
indoors,” he says.

Offor says that the opposition has “cried foul,” accusing the
government of attempting to cripple their campaigns by limiting what
they can do. Supporters of presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar say
he has been blocked from running an effective campaign due to the many
legal challenges he has faced. 


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