Why Buhari Cancelled US Trip b

•Certificate saga, human rights records scare
APC candidate
IT emerged on Saturday that the Presidential
candidate of the All Progressives Congress
(APC), General Muhammadu Buhari
jettisoned his advertised trip to the United
States of America because of the fear of
being questioned over his involvement in the
post 2011 election violence and his
certificate saga.
The APC Campaign Organization had
confirmed two weeks ago that the General
would visit the United States to address
some Diasporal Nigerians, but it emerged
last week that Buhari had jettisoned the trip
on fears his compatriots would batter him
with questions over his involvement in the
2011 election saga which led to the death of
800 Nigerians, including ten Youth Corps
members.
The Northern Coalition for Democracy and
Justice (NCDJ) a group of Northern Pro-
democracy activists had, some months ago,
petitioned the International Criminal Court
(ICC) in the Hague alleging that Buhari 's
party was to be blamed for the 2011 post
election violence.
The General had also been involved in a
certificate saga, which remains unending
despite spirited effort by the opposition party
to keep it under the table.
The group had engaged a prosecutor, Mr.
Goran Sluiter, a human rights lawyer who
had filed a charge against the Buhari at the
Hagues, while the NCDJ had also last week
petitioned the United States Secretary of
States, Senator John Kerry, asking the US to
facilitate Buhari's extradiction to the Hague
for trial over the death of some 800 persons
in the post election violence of 2011.
In the letter dated January 25, 2015 and
titled: "The role of General Muhammadu
Buhari in the 2011 post election violence in
Nigeria," which was signed by Dr. Ibrahim
Baba , Secretary Research and
Documentation, Mr. Yunana Shubkau,
Publicity Secretary and Umar Farouk,
Secretary General, the NCDJ said it had
dragged General Buhari to the International
Criminal Court but needed the backing of the
US to have Buhari repatriated to the court.
The letter read in part: "Conducts of political
actors particularly statements credited to
General Buhari and others in the year 2012,
2013 and 2014 during the build up to the
2015 elections is in the context of politically
motivated sectarian violence. And a threat to
the conduct of peaceful, free, fair and
transparent elections in Nigeria.
"Therefore as an integral part of the
international community, the United States
have an unambiguous obligation to facilitate
the prosecution of individuals responsible for
the 2011 post election violence recorded in
Nigeria and to checkmate reoccurrence of the
same dastardly act in 2015 during the
general elections in Nigeria.
"Northern Coalition for Democracy and
Justice instituted legal action for human
rights violation against Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari before the ICC at the Hague.
It is in view of the ample video, audio and
documented evidence to support a
prosecution against him at our disposal that
we urge the United States Government to
facilitate his hand over to the International
Criminal Court as there is incontrovertible
evidence against him which supercedes that
of Mr. Laurent Bagbo of Ivory Coast and
Uhuru Kenyata of Kenya
"As vanguards of accountability in our dear
country, we shall continue to conscientise
and mobilize the citizenry to resist all forms
of intolerance in Nigeria.