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Recently, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) expressed grave concern over election-related insecurity across Nigeria. Speaking at the validation of election security training resources in Abuja recently, the Chairman, Board of The Electoral Institute (TEI), INEC’s training arm, Prof. Abdullahi Abdu Zuru, said if the insecurity was not monitored and dealt with decisively, it could ultimately culminate in the cancellation and/or postponement of elections in sufficient constituencies to hinder the declaration of election results and precipitate a constitutional crisis.
Last year, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, similarly raised the same concern. According to him, if the attacks on INEC offices and facilities were not halted, the conduct of the forthcoming election might be affected. “We are keeping our eyes, particularly on the North-West and South-Eastern part of the country. Elections are conducted by human beings. We worry about the security of our officials, materials, and even the voters themselves. Without them, elections cannot be conducted,” Yakubu said.
Even the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) also expressed concerns over these attacks. The UK Development Director, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, Chris Pycroft, and the US Consul General, Mr. Will Stevens, had also noted that the attacks posed serious danger to the 2023 polls.
There had been series of attacks on INEC offices and facilities in states like Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Enugu, Bayelsa, Borno, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Taraba, Imo, Abia, Cross River and Kaduna. Altogether, about 50 of such attacks had occurred in INEC’s offices in about 14 states across the country. Most of the attacks happened in Imo State and most of the culprits happen to be hoodlums and gunmen.
In Ogun and Osun states, for instance, arsonists simultaneously set ablaze the INEC offices in Abeokuta South Council and Ede South Council, respectively. In the Abeokuta incident, INEC’s main building and movable assets such as 904 ballot boxes, 29 voting cubicles, 30 megaphones, 57 election bags, eight electric power generators and 65,699 uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were destroyed. In Ede, a section of the INEC building and some furniture items were also destroyed.
Besides these attacks, there are some other roadblocks to the successful conduct of the 2023 elections. For instance, some politicians are doing everything possible to circumvent the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic transmission of results. Spokesman of opposition political parties collectively known as the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Ikenga Ugochinyere, alleged last year that some governors were making frantic efforts to remove the chairman of INEC and some of his national commissioners because every effort made to persuade them to drop the idea of using BVAS was unsuccessful. Some politicians also went to court secretly to stop the use of BVAS. All this could precipitate crisis that could cause security breach during the elections.
Nevertheless, the Federal Government has reassured Nigerians that the elections will hold as scheduled. Giving the assurance at the 17th edition of President Muhammadu Buhari scorecard series from 2015 – 2023, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the position of the Federal Government remained that the 2023 elections would be held as planned and that nothing had happened to change that position. According to him, INEC is working with the security agencies to ensure that the elections are successfully held across the country. He stated that the security agencies were working tirelessly to ensure that the elections were held in a peaceful atmosphere.
Beyond the rhetoric, government must ensure that it walks its talk. It must ensure that it guarantees the citizens the right to political participation, which is enshrined in the 1999 Nigerian Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.
President Muhammadu Buhari had assured the nation that he would provide free, fair and transparent elections in 2023. The first step towards fulfilling that promise is to tackle the spate of insecurity in the country. To stop the attacks and avoid undermining public trust and confidence in the electoral process, government must investigate, identify and prosecute the perpetrators of these attacks and their sponsors. Security agencies must be adequately catered for. It is not enough to deploy them to INEC offices. There should also be a conscious effort to provide most of their needs.
Security agencies, on their part, must be alert to their responsibilities. They need to focus on sharing intelligence if they must tackle the security challenge effectively. It is heartening that the National Security Adviser, General Mohammed Babagana Monguno, and some other security chiefs have all given assurance of adequate security and conducive environment for the successful conduct of the elections. Everything possible must be done to ensure that the elections are held without hitches.
