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The All Progressives Congress presidential campaign organisation, has reported the First Lady, Patience Jonathan to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for calling for violence on for anyone using the slogan, ‘change’.
She reportedly made the statement two weeks ago, while campaigning for her husband in Calabar, Cross River State.
In a statement, the APC campaign organisation said:“Change, as the entire country knows by now, is the slogan of the APC – the rallying cry of a political party that wishes to bring hope of greater and better things to come for Nigeria and Nigerians.
“By her statement, Mrs. Jonathan was clearly calling on the PDP supporters in Calabar to attack supporters and campaigners of the APC in the state”
It added: “Mrs. Jonathan does not occupy any formal office in the Nigerian government as the position of the First Lady is not recognised by the Nigerian constitution.
“Patience Jonathan’s incontrovertible hate speech not only contravened the laws of the land, but also went completely against the Abuja peace accord jointly signed by the two presidential candidates, Muhammadu Buhari and President Goodluck Jonathan – a gesture which is aimed at forestalling violence before, during and after the 2015 elections.
“The PDP supporters in the state, who may not know better, could easily yield themselves to the First Lady’s admonition and embark on a process of wanton stoning and other attacks against the APC members.”
The organisation likened the First Lady’s statements to those of Simone, the wife of a former President of Cote d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, prior to the country’s 2010 elections.
The ICC indicted Mrs. Gbagbo for her part in planning to perpetrate brutal attacks on her husband’s political opponents in the wake of the elections.