EDITORIAL: The UK visa ban

The United Kingdom has imposed visa restrictions on some top Nigerian politicians, especially state governors, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, and party bigwigs who are offenders of electoral laws of Nigeria.

In addition, the UK will hinder access to foreign assets of election riggers and prosecute them on the platform of international law.

Already, the US government has placed a visa ban on a resident electoral commissioner of INEC, three governors, some lecturers, who participated in the general elections held between 2019 and this year, as well as some security officials for allegedly perpetrating acts of violence, intimidation and corruption during the elections notably those of Kogi and Bayelsa States.

As a follow-up to the US stance on visa restrictions on Nigerians involved in electoral fraud and violence, the UK has announced that it would impose a ban on those involved in violence during the Edo and Ondo gubernatorial elections.

The UK said it would deploy observation missions to both Edo and Ondo elections and support civil society led observers.

In this regard, the High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, has held meetings with leaders of the two main political parties— APC and PDP; urging them to get political party leaders to prevail on their supporters to avoid violence before and after the elections.

Needless to say, the UK and the US have been commended for their stance and urged to extend the restrictions to the families of “such anti-democratic agents who have destroyed the credibility” of electoral process in the country.

Similarly, some notable political actors have also urged the US to invite the EU, UAE, Saudi Arabia as well as other countries to impose similar sanctions on electoral offenders.

This visa ban, if supported by major world powers, will be a final warning to the leaders of the political parties as well as compromised security and INEC officials to desist from electoral fraud and violence.

It does appear that the visa restriction threats of the US and the UK had a restraining effect on the conduct and outcome of the Edo governorship election of 20th September 2020.

It also promises to deter would-be election riggers and perpetrators of electoral violence in the forthcoming Ondo State governorship election scheduled for October this year.

However, there are apprehensions that the visa ban may amount to some form of interference in the domestic affairs of Nigeria and that it may erode or have implications for the sovereignty of the country.

Why would foreign powers think of meddling with offences committed within the territorial boundaries of Nigeria?

If the citizens of Nigeria choose to commit offences against the Nigerian electoral laws why should it be the business of UK and the US to track down and punish such offenders when the conduct of the offenders did not undermine electoral practices in the US and the UK?

In like manner, it has been argued that extending the visa ban to the family members of the Nigerian offenders of the electoral laws is unfair as such an act would violate the human rights of family members who have not committed any offence against the law.

Why visit the crimes of the father or the mother on the children? Is justice served in visiting the offence of one person on another?

Can’t offenders just be punished without extending the punishment to family members?

The sentiment that the visa ban may amount to the interference of foreign powers in the internal affairs of Nigeria or that it may compromise the sovereignty of the country is misplaced.

The conduct of election riggers and perpetrators of electoral violence has serially embarrassed the country and anything they get by way of punishment is more than deserved.

Asking foreign powers to help us deal with cases of criminal impunity and flagrant abuses of the electoral process does not amount to compromising the sovereignty of the country.

It is not tantamount to inviting the UK and the US to take over governance of Nigeria.

Asking a notorious wife beater to stop coming to your house because of the scandal and breach of the peace he causes in the neighbourhood in no way amounts to interfering in the wife beater’s domestic affairs.

Secondly, the call for the extension of the visa restriction to the family members of the culprits is in order provided such family members are direct beneficiaries of the proceeds of electoral frauds and violence.

No one who profits from a crime should be exculpated from the penalties meted out to offenders of the law.

One cannot cause violence and mayhem and make a country ungovernable and seek the liberty to spirit away their family to safe havens elsewhere in the world.

READ ALSO: Group begs US,UK to place visa ban on INEC officials involved in rigging elections

Consequently, we endorse the visa ban and call on all responsible governments and countries of the world to join in placing visa restriction on all identified election riggers and perpetrators of electoral violence and their beneficiaries who deliberately disrupt the democratic processes of electing credible leaders in Nigeria.

Finally, Nigerian rulers should learn a lesson from this experience. The world is a global village.

Nobody can carry out criminal acts without being noticed by the world. Besides, it is the prerogative of countries to issue visas only to persons who meet the stated requirements.