Elections: Coup d’etat, interim government likely – Falana warns

A human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, has raised the alarm of the possibility of a coup d’etat in the country after the March 28 presidential elections.

According the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, the March 28 and April 11 elections may be sabotaged by anti-democratic forces, a situation which could lead the military to stage a coup d’etat and set in place an interim government.

Mr. Falana, stated this in a speech he delivered at the Foursquare Gospel Church owned Life Theological Seminary, Ikorodu, on Sunday, adding that despite assurances by President Goodluck Jonathan and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, there was no indication that the election will hold as billed.

He warned that there is a likelihood of a post-election violence if the election goes forward.

“There is no indication that the election will hold. If the INEC goes ahead with the conduct of the elections there are fears that the exercise may be sabotaged by anti-democratic forces. If the election holds, the results may be rejected leading to a post-election violence which may threaten the corporate existence of the nation.

“In the circumstance, an interim government may be established and be saddled with the task of preparing the country for another political transition. In the alternative, a coup d’etat that may be staged by the top echelon of the armed forces under the pretext of restoring law and order and fighting the menace of insurgency. The military wing of the ruling parties succeeded in Mali and Burkina Faso. But having divided the country along ethnic and religious lines, the masterminds of the political crisis are not likely to profit from the perfidy.”

Falana therefore tasked Nigerians to prepare “for a long drawn out battle for the liberation of the country from political and economic predators”.

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