The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (Situation Room) Statement on the State of Affairs in Nigeria.

Issued 3rd December 2014

The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room held a two days meeting in Calabar, Cross River State from the 26^th to 27^th of November, 2014, where its members deliberated extensively on the state of affairs in Nigeria and expressed the following concerns;

1. That the nation is witnessing increased insurgency, violence and killings in several parts of the country especially the North-East region.
2. That Nigerians are increasingly worried that the Military response to Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East has been feeble and indecisive.
3. That hundreds of thousands of Nigeria displaced by insurgency may be unable to vote during the 2015 general election.
4. That the security forces including the Nigeria Police appear to have started displaying increased bias and partisanship in carrying out their constitutional duties.
5. That the Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC) has not carried out the ongoing Permanent Voters Cards’ (PVC) distribution and Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) with efficiency.

In the light of these concerns, the Situation Room took the following decisions;

1.  That the Nigerian government and Military authorities should take effective and efficient steps devoid of politics and immediately bring Boko Haram insurgency and immediately as well as other militant insurgencies to an end.
2. Calls on INEC to return to the drawing board and take urgent action to effectively distribute the PVC and carry out the CVR to avoid disenfranchising Nigerians in the forthcoming election in 2015.
3. Calls on all politicians to rein in their rhetoric of hate and violence and focus on campaigns based on issues and national development.
4. Condemns the statement of Katsina State Governor, Ibrahim Shema that urged his supporters to kill and inflict violence on his opponents whom he referred to as “cockroaches” that must be crushed.
5. Condemns the growing politicization and partisanship of the Nigeria Police and other security agencies and calls on these agencies of government to function within the limit of their constitutional powers and professionalism.
6. That all citizens of Nigeria should join the Situation Room in the condemnation of all forms of reckless comments, hate speeches and unlawful actions that can incite violence in the build up to the 2015 elections and beyond.

The Situation Room comprising more than 60 civic groups is a broad platform of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that serves as a melting pot of ideas, analysing issues and proposing changes and reforms in response to key developments and gaps in the governance process in Nigeria.