Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Timi Frank, on Sunday, condemned the recent killing of Chadian opposition politician, Yaya Dillo Djerou, by state security forces loyal to President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno.
The death of opposition leader Djerou followed a siege on his party’s headquarters and the homes of other top officials of the opposition Socialist Party Without Borders in N’Djamena on Wednesday.
Frank, who gave the condemnation in a statement on Sunday, urged the African Union and Chad’s neighbour Nigeria to intervene to stop further killings by the Chadian military government, restore democratic rule, and free all political prisoners in the country.
He said this has become necessary to prevent continuous bloodletting and possible outbreak of insurrection in the country capable of destabilising other countries across its borders with incidence of refugees, attendant chaos, and political instability.
READ MORE: Chad opposition leader killed in army assault on party HQ
He said it was better for the leaders of the AU and the Economic Community of Central African States, as well as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to act now to stabilise the country instead of “waiting to close the stable door when the horse has bolted.”
(FILES) President of Chad’s Transition Council Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno looks on as he attends the 63rd Independence Day celebrations in N’Djamena on August 11, 2023. (Photo by Denis Sassou Gueipeur / AFP)
He also enjoined the Chairman of ECOWAS, President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, to take responsibility by ensuring that the present political turmoil in Chad is resolved ahead of its May 6th presidential election.
“If there is outbreak of armed hostilities between opposition and military-led security forces, Nigeria’s northern states would be awash with refugees and inflow of small and light weapons that may further worsen the security situation in the Lake Chad region,” he said.
Frank noted that political killings and human rights abuses skyrocketed in Chad after the military take over following the death of the nation’s former President, Idris Deby in 2021 and the installation of his son Mahamat as leader.
Timi Frank
He said even though the junta led by Deby’s son, Mahamat, earlier fixed an 18-month transition period to conduct elections, the timeline was unilaterally shifted to three years during which it amended the country’s constitution to allow the interim leader and head of the military transition council, President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, to participate.
Frank also called on the international community to prevail on Mahamat to release all political detainees, revert to the old constitution and allow the conduct of a free, fair and credible poll to choose Chad’s next president.
Above all, he called on the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute Mahamat over the alleged killing of Dillo and others by the military junta.
Recall that Human Rights Watch had on Saturday called for a foreign-backed independent investigation into the killing of Djerou, Chad’s leading opposition figure and a cousin of Mahamat. Djerou’s party, the Socialist Party Without Borders, described his killing as an “execution.”