ALL DAY SCHOOLS 2018 X-MAS PARTY

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Militarisation of 2019 elections Read more at: https://www.vanguaf-2019-elections/

Excesses of overzealous soldiers undermined credibility of elections — CSOs, elder statesmen, lawyers, etc. Deployment of soldiers to secure elections dangerous to our democracy —Clement Nwankwo It is wrong to say electoral process was militarised—Lt Gen Tukur Buratai By Mike Ebonugwo & Charles Kumolu ALTHOUGH the 2019 general elections have come and gone, the jury is still out on the question of whether the entire process was credible based on how those assigned different roles by law and the relevant authorities conducted themselves. On the dock are the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC; the different political parties that took part in the elections, the security agencies, including the Police, the military and others. A Nigerian police SWAT personnel member sits alert with a machine gun on a vehicle stationed at the entrance of Rivers State collation centre in Port Harcourt, Southern Nigeria, on February 26, 2019. – Incumbent Muhammadu Buhari kept a lead over his main rival in the race to become Nigeria’s next president, with nearly half of all states declared. The death toll from violence linked to the vote meanwhile increased from 39 to 47, according to the Situation Room umbrella group of civil society election monitors. AFP But while some aggrieved parties and politicians are already gearing up to contest the outcomes of the elections in the law courts, the major talking point in many quarters is the involvement and conduct of the military in the entire exercise. And the questions is: Did the military interfere in the last electoral process? In the court of public opinion dominated by retired soldiers, elder statesmen, the civil society, lawyers and religious leaders, the military, especially the Nigerian Army, has questions to answer with regard to the conduct of soldiers deployed to security duties in parts of the country during the elections. In the front burner of public discussions are eyewitness accounts and media reports of how some overzealous soldiers acted in a manner deemed to have undermined the credibility and sanctity of the elections. They have been accused of having in a show of brute force invaded INEC collation centres in different parts of the country, chasing away accredited political party agents, election monitors and news men. It was a development that was confirmed by Mr. Edwin Enabo, INEC Head of Voter Education and Information in Rivers State. According to him, some soldiers allegedly invaded INEC office on Aba Road, Port Harcourt and soon embarked on a partisan, selective screening of voters. This claim of forceful interference of soldiers in the electoral process was later corroborated by independent witnesses in the state. Some observers also said soldiers were also complicit through their excesses in the outbreak of violence that claimed many lives during the elections as was the case in Rivers State which has become a sad reference point. For instance, according to the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, headed by Mr. Clement Nwankwo, no fewer than 58 Nigerians were reportedly killed during the election, with Rivers State accounting for 30 of this alarming number. Speaking as a guest on The Verdict, Channels Television’s special broadcast on the elections, Nwankwo specifically faulted military involvement in the elections, especially as it borders on participating soldiers not taking directives from INEC officials. According to him: “We went through 13 years of brutal military dictatorship and we are at the point today where for the first time since 1999, the army is playing such an incredibly direct role in our elections. “Even when General Abdulsalami Abubakar conducted elections as Head of State in 1999, we did not have the military used in the way it is being used today. This is destroying our democracy; this is not the democracy that we saw when we went to vote in 2015 or in 2011. “This is very dangerous to our democracy. If this country has to survive and this democracy has to survive, then this country must take a stand on what to do about military involvement in elections. If the military is not able to take directives from INEC, the law should be amended to ensure they are immediately removed from involvement in any way in elections.” Mr. Nwankwo was not alone in this observation. Some other local and foreign observers also passed a damning verdict on the roles played by the military during both the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections and the March 9 governorship and state House of Assembly elections, they said fell short of international best practice. For instance, the unanimous position of the European Union, EU, Election Observation Mission Nigeria 2019; the joint international observation mission of the International Republican Institute, IRI; the National Democratic Institute, NDI; Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD and the Integrity Friends for Truth and Peace Initiative, TIFPI, in their preliminary reports, was that the way the elections were conducted fell short of standard in many respects, made worse by the partisan involvement of the military. Partisan involvement  of the military Speaking on this, the Executive Director/Lead Observer, TIFPI, Livingstone Wechie said: “TIFPI observed the alleged involvement of men in Army and other security uniforms in the elections in Imo, Rivers, Zamfara, Kaduna, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Ogun. The Army high command had earlier assured that the military will provide security and not interfere in the process. Soldiers and policemen stand at the gate of the state headquarters of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on March 10, 2019. – Fears has gripped residents of oil-rich Port Harcourt city in Niger delta region as state headquarters of Independent National Electoral Commission has been condoned off by dozens of fierce looking soldiers, anti-riots policemen and other complementary security agents who are jointly patrolling the city ahead of the much awaited results of the just concluded governorship and state assembly elections. (Photo by AFP) “TIFPI observed the wave of men in Army and other security uniforms who sought to disrupt and indeed disrupted the election process in some states and we opine that there must have been also the use of fake soldiers and infiltration of some of the security formations. Hence, the Army authorities should fish out any of its men that may have interfered in the election in any of these states, including possible infiltration in their circles”. Also expressing deep concern over the development, the British High Commission in Nigeria had in a series of tweets decried report of military interference in the election in Rivers State in particular, saying that it does not bode well for democratic process as it would affect the ability of INEC staff to conduct an impartial election. On its own part, the umbrella body of opposition parties in Nigeria, the Conference of United Political Parties, CUPP, pointedly accused the APC-led Federal Government and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, of using the militarisation of the electoral process to reintroduce military rule in the country. In a statement issued by its  national spokesperson, Mr. Ikenga Ugochinyere, the coalition said: “We condemn in unequivocal terms President Muhammadu Buhari and his Chief of Army Staff’s attempt to overthrow the electoral process in Rivers State with APC thugs and security agents. “We hereby say without mincing words that the undemocratic activities of the military and other security agencies in Rivers State are tantamount to treasonable felony and should be viewed and treated that way.” Some other observers prefer to trace the excesses of the soldiers deployed to elections duty to a comment credited to President Muhammadu Buhari where he ordered security to shoot those who dared to snatch ballot boxes during the elections. Speaking during an emergency meeting of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Abuja, shortly after elections were postponed by INEC, the President was quoted as saying: “Anybody who decides to snatch (ballot) boxes or use thugs to disturb it – maybe this will be the last unlawful action he will take”, adding that anyone who tried to interfere with the elections would be doing so “at the expense of his life”. It was an ordered PDP spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan likened to ”a license to kill”. Ironically, the heavy presence of soldiers during the elections did not deter thugs and other undesirable elements from running wild in many places where they unleashed violence with impunity.  This was the observation of the CDD in its own assessment of the elections. It specifically decried what it described as the weaponisation of the entire process which aided the harassment, intimidation and assault of election officials, observers, journalists and voters. According to a report signed by its chairman, CDD-EAC, Prof. Adele Jinadu and CDD Director Idayat Hassan: “The weaponisation of the election and abductions of INEC staff and the ad-hoc staff is worrisome and constitutes a drawback to the progress we have made so far. INEC officials were kidnapped and later released in Benue, Katsina, Kogi, Imo, Akwa Ibom and Rivers during voting and collation of results, with Katsina alone re

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/03/militarisation-of-2019-elections/