Governorship Polls: Those Behind Electoral Violence in Nigeria

Mon, Mar 11, 2019 | By publisher


Featured, Politics

As new governors and state lawmakers emerge in various parts of the country in the March 9, elections, some Nigerians are mourning the killing and maiming of their loved ones who bore the brunt of the elections in an orgy of violence mostly spearheaded by political actors and security personnel

By Olu Ojewale

A lot of Nigerians saw it coming. Learning from the Presidential/National Assembly elections of Saturday, February 23, they knew there would violence in certain parts of the country. But they could not have imagined that prominent political stalwarts, including governors, ministers, party leaders will be leading the assualt on the electoral process. Even the military announced the deployment of its members to a number of places considered as flashpoints to provide security during the elections. Unfortunately, nobody predicted that the military personnel or some persons in the Army uniform would be used to disrupt elections. Indeed, violence characterised the conduct of the March 9, elections in some parts of the country resulting in killing and maiming of a number of persons.

Leading the pack is Rivers State, where the elections process was postponed following the violence, disruption, shooting and gangsterism, which took over the state.

Reports said that men of the Nigerian Army had barricaded the entire stretch of Aba Road, Port Harcourt, where the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is located, with armoured tanks and other vehicles, preventing commuters from plying the route.

Although the INEC officials, party agents, accredited observers and members of the media were allowed access into the INEC office, the gate remained heavily manned by soldiers. Many parts of the State were said be under siege with military armed men parading the streets, thereby leading to voters apathy and report of snatching of ballot boxes in some places.

Rotimi Amaechi
Amaechi

As if that was not bad enough, the absence of Obo Effanga, the resident electoral commissioner, REC, and the inability of the INEC officers present to give any update on the collation heightened tension.

Trouble reportedly started in the early hours of Sunday, March 10, after security personnel allegedly invaded centres at Obio-Akpor, Eleme, Akuku-Toru, Asari-Toru, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni and others.

In Okrika and Ogu-Bolo Local Government areas, people allegedly resisted moves by soldiers to access the centres until the early hours of Sunday.

Late on the night of Saturday, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State allegedly stormed the collation centre in Obio-Akpor. When reports got to All Progressives Congress, APC, members were said to have sent a distress call to their own leaders in the state. At about 1:00 a.m., Chibuike Amaechi, the minister of Transportation, and some military personnel allegedly arrived at the centre. The soldiers used their van to force the gate open. But the governor and his team had already left the centre.

At Bori, the headquarters of Khana LGA, the police allegedly shot one Ferry Gberegbe. Also, at the INEC office, on Sunday morning, three persons were said to have sustained serious injuries. Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, president, the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOP, said the reports of violence cast doubt on the integrity of the process. “The MOSOP is concerned about reports of opening of fire on unarmed citizens and teargasing of people allegedly by security agents particularly at the Ogoni towns of Kpor, Bori and Ogale and the resultant death and wounding of several persons including the shooting of Dr. Ferry Gberegbe and teargasing of Dumle Maol, all of whom are MOSOP officials. This is indeed a setback on our democracy,” he said.

On the whole, no fewer than seven people were feared killed in Rivers State, Saturday even as low voter turnout marred elections in the state.

Magnus Abe, who represents Rivers South East senatorial district, said what happened fell short of Nigeria’s standard for elections. He urged the federal government to ensure the rights of the people are protected.

Abiola Ajimobi
Ajimobi

Little wonder why the INEC consequently announced the indefinite suspension of the elections process in the state. A statement issued on Sunday, March 10, by Festus Okoye, the chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, said the decision was based on “widespread disruption of elections” in the governorship and State House of Assembly elections held on Saturday, March 9. He said after a meeting of the commission held on Sunday, the commission took the decision in line with Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and Clause 47(e) of the Regulations and Guidelines of the Commission.

An INEC official, who spoke to The Guardian newspaper under anonymity, reportedly said: “The election has to be suspended because a lot of our officers are under threat. Collation centres are under siege. There’s no way we can continue with the process. INEC has issued a statement to that effect and it stands.”

The Guardian similarly reported that about an hour after the announcement, the soldiers drove their armoured vehicles away but retained some tanks and men at both ends of the Aba Road. Officers of the Nigeria Police also continued to keep watch at the premises. “I feel so embarrassed and frustrated because this is far below our expectation. The REC had given us the confidence that this election would be peaceful and that they want to change the narrative. But against those expectations, the worst has happened. The presidential election was postponed on the day it was supposed to hold. Now, we are having a suspended election. As an observer, I will say that democracy is weeping in Rivers State,” Emmanuel Okeyamu, the president of the Nigeria Votes Count, said.

Describing the situation as disappointing and frustrating, Christian Leke, the state collation officer for the African Democratic Congress, ADC, said: “Whatever has happened needs to be investigated. Between yesterday and today in Rivers, there has been a harvest of deaths. “Even when we were being checked by the security, I saw military men invading INEC office. I heard a captain, who led the army, here, showing great disrespect, to an assistant police commissioner. I was so worried; I began to wonder the kind of relationship they have.

“Ordinarily, they have a committee where they are supposed to work together. But for the Army officer to openly disrespect an assistant police commissioner is worrisome. Why would the army try to undermine the powers vested on the police as an institution mandated to lead the electoral process?”

Wike
Wike

Victor Christopher, an ADP agent at the collation centre, condemned the deployment of soldiers for the election, saying the situation was responsible for the voter apathy. “What’s the role of the police? Why are we deploying soldiers for an election? We are not at war in Rivers State. They should deploy soldiers to Borno State and other troubled areas like Sambisa Forest, not Rivers,” he said.

Also irked by the situation in the State, women dressed in black took to the streets, denouncing what they termed militarisation of the polls. Brandishing placards, they stormed the popular GRA Junction, chanting protest songs. Mercifully, there was no untoward incident.

That notwithstanding, The Vanguard newspaper reported that 17 persons, among them a legislator, were arrested in Lagos and Ogun states by personnel of the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, over offences ranging from alleged ballot snatching, disruption of election process and impersonation during the elections.

One of the thugs allegedly opened fire on the troops, injuring an officer in Ijebu-Ode area of Ogun State, in his attempt to evade arrest, after his accomplice attempted to snatch ballot boxes at a polling unit. Recovered from the suspects were 111 permanent voter’s cards, PVCs, cutlasses, charms and other dangerous objects.

Giving an update of the election in its area of responsibility, the Division disclosed that distress calls on disruptions of election processes were received from densely-populated Ajegunle, Makinde and Satellite areas of Lagos, and Ogere in Ogun State. In the process, troops stationed at the Forward Operational Base 1, Olayinka Street, Ajegunle, reportedly foiled attempt by hoodlums to snatch election materials from some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The rampaging thugs at Ajegunle allegedly barricaded the road, denying the INEC officials access, intimidated voters and vandalised shops. But when the troops arrived, they took to their heels, abandoning cutlasses, an axe and many other dangerous weapons.

Also, two men, who posed as soldiers were arrested in Ikotun in Lagos, and in Alabule in Ogun State. Confirming the arrests, Olaolu Daudu, a lieutenant-colonel and deputy director, Army Public Relations, said that some of the suspects were handed over to the Police.

In Ondo State, no fewer than six persons, including a member of National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, died during Saturday’s House of Assembly election across Ondo State. The dead included two suspected thugs that were shot dead on Saturday, March 9, while they attempted to overrun the INEC collation centre in Oba-Akoko area of the state. Police vehicles, buildings and other structures were torched by the thugs, who attempted to hijack electoral materials at the collation centre but failed.

Four persons were also reportedly shot dead during a bloody clash between supporters of the APC and the PDP in Odigbo council area of the state. Two other persons, including lbrahim Okanlawon, an NYSC member, and an ad hoc staff of the INEC reportedly died in a boat mishap in the riverine area of the state after the election.

The corps member, who served as one of the INEC ad hoc staff, with his colleagues, were said to be returning from Ward 2 in Agadagba-Obon after completing their duty when the incident occurred. Seven others, who survived the boat mishap but sustained various degrees of injuries, were swiftly taken to a community health centre in Ese-Odo. Reports had it that the deceased didn’t use life jacket at the time the accident occurred and efforts to save them proved abortive.

Femi Joseph, the police public relations officer for Ondo Command, said only two deaths, including the corps member were recorded. He also added that 20 suspects had been arrested by the Police while attempting to attack the INEC collation centre.

Reports had it that the alleged electoral fraud in the Odigbo Constituency 1 election, where Iroju Ogundeji, the incumbent deputy speaker, emerged winner, sparked off protest which led to a shootout between youths and security operatives invited by the candidate of the ruling APC.

The prevailing violence caused the state government to order restriction of all human and vehicular movement in Oba-Akoko, Akoko South-West council area of the state.

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who visited the troubled Oba-Akoko on Sunday, March 10, condemned the violence where two persons were killed. Accompanied by Undie Adie, the state commissioner of Police, Akeredolu, who expressed displeasure at the level of devastation at the Divisional Police Station and its barracks, wondered why the perpetrators of the acts could embark on such criminality and lawlessness. He said the state government would set up a panel of inquiry to find out the immediate and remote causes of the incident and determine the cost implication of damages done to public and private property.

The state commissioner of Police had earlier briefed the governor on how his men at the station were overpowered by a mob, whose actions were politically motivated, after they had illegally blocked all entries into the town. Adie, who confirmed the arrest of some hoodlums who he said engaged in various forms of electoral offences, assured that there would be enough reinforcements to restore peace and order. Vanguard learnt that the thugs planned to destroy election materials, including ballot boxes and result sheets in parts of Akoko South-West Local Government Area, but met stiff resistance from security personnel, who dislodged them, with the electoral officials and materials used in the election rescued to the collation centre in Iwaro-Oka.

Similarly in Oyo State, Temitope Olatoye, a member of the Federal House of Representatives representing Lagelu/Akinyele Federal Constituency and the chairman, House Committee on Urban Development and Regional Planning, was shot dead by some miscreants. He was 47 years. The incident happened at Lalupon in Lagelu Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Reacting, Shina Olukolu, the commissioner of Police, has directed the deputy commissioner of Police in charge of the state Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, CID, to personally lead the team of investigators to unravel the killers.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, who said he was saddened by the killing also condemned the pockets of violence that characterised the Saturday, March 9, election.

Ajimobi insisted that: “Nobody’s ambition should be worth the blood or life of any citizen. I’m, therefore, appalled that some unscrupulous politicians and their followers have turned this contest into a do-or-die affair, which is alien to democratic norms in saner climes.

“We struggled hard for this democracy, and for it to be entrenched we must eschew every act of bitterness, desperation and foul play during elections. In life, you win some contests and you lose some. If we imbibe this philosophy, we will take every victory and defeat with equal measure of equanimity.”

In Kano State, the Police arrested Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, the deputy governor, and Murtala Sule Garo, the commissioner for Local Government, for allegedly attempting to disrupt collation of election results.

It was learnt that the incident happened after INEC had released the results of 43 local governments out of the 44 in the state at the state collation centre and while awaiting that of Nasarawa local government, which many people alleged that efforts were made to tamper with it.

It was alleged that the deputy governor and the commissioner in company with some political thugs attacked the Nasarawa local collation centre at about 1.30am on Monday, March 11, and unleashed terror on the people before the security agents overpowered them and took them to Bompai Police headquarters, Kano.

In any case, observers say what the governorship and States House of Assembly elections had demonstrated to the world is that there was voter apathy as the presence of the military in electoral process had succeeded to alienate voters from participating. Besides, some electorate who voted in the Presidential/National Assembly elections believed that their votes did not count.

Indeed, the Centre for Transparency Advocacy, CTA, an election observation group, declared that Police and military personnel were involved in the disruption of the voting process, harassment of the INEC officials and election observers in the Saturday’s polls. Faith Nwadishi, the acting executive director of the CTA, who presented the group’s interim report on the election, said although the security agents appeared to have conducted themselves well in many voting units across the country, the organisations’ observers reported unprofessional behaviour by some of them.

The group recalled an incident where the INEC officials and observers were allegedly held hostage and their personal effects, including phones, seized at Ward 7, Unit 14, in Oruk Anam in Akwa Ibom State. “Our observers also reported that security agents raided a nearby polling unit. A CTA observer narrowly escaped being held by the marauding security agents,” Nwadishi said.

In an interview, Olatunbosun Abolarinwa, a security expert, said that Rivers State is a peculiar place being an oil producing area where there are militants bursting oil pipelines, kidnappings, armed robberies and other forms of social disturbances. Consequently, he said the state should have been treated with utmost care and concern and not be allowed to be run over by interest groups. “Democracy is supposed to protect you. You don’t have to take up arms or be violent to get your desired persons into office,” he said.

In the same vein, Seyi Makinde, the Oyo State governor-elect on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, on Monday, March 11, said politics should be devoid of violence and intimidation.

While condemning violence that attended the elections nation-wide, which he described as needless, Makinde said the bloodletting, maiming and killing are “unfortunate dent on our democracy.”

In any case, in any given election, there will always be a winner and loser. So, it behoves the Nigerian politicians to remove the dent by educating their supporters that election is not a do-or-die affair.

– Mar. 11, 2019 @ 17:29 GMT |

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