CSOs Raise Security Concern In Kogi, Imo, Bayelsa

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have expressed security concerns on the conduct of the gubernatorial elections taking place in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa States. 

According to the CSOs, security agencies should rise to the challenge, protect the voters, election observers and all stakeholders participating in the election. 

The CSOs which spoke at different press conferences are: Yiaga Africa, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA Nigeria). 

Speaking at a press conference to release the report of Yiaga Africa Watching The Vote report endorsed by their board chairman, Hussaini Abdu, the executive director, Samson Itodo, said issues of security must be taken seriously. 

“The commitment of key democratic institutions such as INEC, security agencies and the executive to restore public confidence in the electoral process will be tested in Saturday’s polls. 

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“As the pre-election climate in these states suggests, they are high-stakes elections with the potential for violence. Nigerians in the three states desire a safe environment to cast their ballot without violence, suppression or intimidation. As these voters proceed to the polls, they expect timely deployment of election materials, early commencement of accreditation and voting and transparent counting and collation of results to ensure the outcome reflects the people’s will. 

“Yiaga Africa notes INEC’s level of preparedness for the election. The commission undertook several preparatory activities in the three states, including training its personnel and deploying non-sensitive and sensitive materials. In October, the commission conducted a successful mock accreditation in the three states to test the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV); however, the turnout for the exercise was abysmally poor, as noted in Yiaga Africa’s observation report on the mock accreditation. In some instances, voters requested cash incentives as a condition for participating in the exercise. Yiaga Africa urges INEC to meticulously configure BVAS and ensure only trained officials manage the devices on election day. Equally important is the need to ensure strict compliance with the upload of authentic result sheets from the polling units on IReV to enhance transparency of the results management process,” he said.

The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room in their press conference, said even though the Nigeria Police announced that it had sufficient personnel and resources to deploy for the governorship elections in the three states, said more attention should be channeled towards protecting the voters, election observers and other stakeholders. 

“The Inspector General of Police, IGP Olukayode Egbetokun has given assurances that the police and other security agencies are ready for election duty, Kogi has a record of election violence, Imo has been engulfed by insecurity and Bayelsa State should not be overlooked. So, we want tidal security in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa States during the election, the convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, Yunusa Zakari Ya’u said. 

Also, the country vice president/national president of FIDA Nigeria, Amina Suzanah Agbaje, said they expect strategic deployment of security personnel across the 2,244 polling units of the states to forestall any form of violence at the polls, which may limit the participation of women, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups. 

“We applaud the deployment of 27,000 police personnel by the Nigeria Police, ensuring that a minimum of four police personnel are stationed in every polling unit in line with global best practices. We further applaud the deployment of 22,600 personnel across Bayelsa, Kogi, and Imo states by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. We call on other sister security agencies to massively deploy their personnel at the polls to checkmate violence, especially in flashpoints and high-risk local government areas of Nembe, Brass, Southern Ijaw, and Ogbia, and all forms of vote-buying that may impede the credibility of the poll,” she said.