Political activist, Deji Adeyanju has urged the United States to extend its visa ban such that it also affects the family members of election riggers in Nigeria.

Deji Adeyanju made the call while speaking in an interview with The PUNCH.

He said, “We just want the US to shame and name them. We want an expansion to members of their families and beneficiaries to serve as a deterrent to those who are always in a hurry to compromise our electoral process. We also want an expansion to the security, Independent National Electoral Commission and party officials, who aid and abet rigging and electoral fraud.”

On the effect the visa ban will have on the Nigerian electoral system, Deji Adeyanju said, “It will have a lot of impact because the majority of them rely on the US for treatment, shopping and education of their children. What is the essence of the visa ban on a governor if his children can still travel or his wife can go shopping in the US? What is the point if the security officials and their superiors, who took part in rigging, did not face the consequences of their actions? The fact that the buck stops on their table must be part of the consideration for sanctions, because if the security operatives, who were directed to oversee elections engage in electoral fraud, it means they were carrying out the instructions of their superiors.”