Although President Muhammadu Buhari and the service chiefs have assured that the 2023 general election will hold in spite of the security threats to the exercise in some parts of the country. However, Nigerians are reportedly worried about the spate of insecurity in the country. There are fears too that the election may not hold in some parts of the country where insecurity is yet to be curtailed.
Although President Muhammadu Buhari and the service chiefs have assured that the 2023 general election will hold in spite of the security threats to the exercise in some parts of the country. However, Nigerians are reportedly worried about the spate of insecurity in the country. There are fears too that the election may not hold in some parts of the country where insecurity is yet to be curtailed.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has even confirmed the distressing security situation in its recent disclosure that 242 polling units with 142,261 registered voters in 10 local government areas in Katsina State were under serious security threat and may likely be affected in the forthcoming general election.
Elsewhere, reports credited to concerned civil society groups under the aegis of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Electoral Security (ICCES), indicated that INEC may be under constraint to conduct the 2023 elections in over 686 communities due to the activities of “unknown gunmen” across the federation. Findings by the group revealed that the affected communities and wards cut across 90 local government areas and 18 states of the country. Of the 686 affected communities, 618 were identified in the north alone, while the South had 68.
Not less than 336 affected communities were identified in the North-West region out of which 200 were in Zamfara State alone. In the North-East, 168 communities were identified, with Borno State having about 79 wards where elections may not hold. About 114 wards, mainly located in Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau states are affected in the North-Central zone. Similarly, 55 communities were identified as trouble spots in Abia, Anambra and Imo states. In the South-West region, the findings claimed that at least 10 communities were identified in Ondo State, especially in Owo and Ose councils and their environs.
With the festering insecurity in some parts of the country, the security of INEC officials cannot be guaranteed. This might have informed the recent alarm raised by the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu at the national endowment for democracy event in the United States (US).
It is not in doubt that the government has done a lot in allaying the fears and assuring voters of their safety during the 2023 election. President Muhammadu Buhari has also directed the armed forces to curb the security challenges in the country by December this year. According to the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, Buhari enjoined the security chiefs to crush the bandits and terrorists.
Also, the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed has equally assured Nigerians that the 2023 general election was not under threat whatsoever, adding that the current state of insecurity, feared to be the major threat to conducting the 2023 elections, would be curbed by security forces.
However, the assurances have not been matched with commensurate actions. Instead, the menace of terrorists and insurgents in the North-East, bandits in the North- West, farmers-herders clashes in the North-Central, separatist agitations in the South-East and sundry criminal activities in the South-West and South-South are on the rise. In some local government areas in Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states, the bandits are now virtually in control.
On June 25, 2022, a fundamentalist group in Birnin Gwari council of Kaduna state released an audio against any form of political campaigning in the area. The statement specifically mentioned villages like Damari, Saulawa, Dogondawa as “no political campaign” zones. Similar threats are unleashed in some communities in the South East.
The recent travel alerts by the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and other western countries to their citizens against travelling to Abuja and some states in the country had increased the fears about the elections. The culture of violence across the geo-political zones in the country has become more worrisome. The attacks on INEC offices in Ogun and Ondo states are signs that the exercise will be trailed by violence. Similar dastardly attacks had occurred in Imo, Enugu, Anambra and other parts of the country. In Imo, INEC registration officials were attacked in Ihitte-Uboma council of the state.
This is the time to truly address the threatening security challenge to the poll. It is possible that if the situation is not adequately addressed before the election, some of the disturbances may increase.
Insecurity is a major threat to the 2023 election. Let INEC offices and officials be protected. Anything that threatens the election must be dealt with now. The government should ensure that there is adequate security before, during and after the poll. The Nigeria Police and other security agencies must be adequately equipped to secure the country.