Don’t intimidate voters during election, Falana warns

Doosuur Iwambe -Abuja

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has urged the military not to intimidate voters during the general elections. He said this in a six-page statement in which he gave details of several court injunctions that had declared the involvement of the military in elections as illegal. The Senior Advocate also quoted Justice Mohammed Rilwan of the Federal High Court in Sokoto, as saying that “other than for the purposes of protecting Nigeria’s territorial integrity, there is no constitutional provision that allows for the deployment of the military for elections”. This is coming few days after President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the army and other security agencies to “deal ruthlessly” with anyone who was caught snatching ballot boxes during the elections.
“Anybody who decides to snatch ballot boxes or lead thugs to disturb it, maybe this is the last unlawful action you will take,” the President had said.
Following the comments, he has since come under criticism by members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and various Nigerians who believe that he failed to speak with utmost decorum and respect to the rule of law.
Falana who also joined to criticise the order by the President further explained that “if the President was desirous to deploy soldiers for elections in the country the judge advised him to request the National Assembly to enact a law to that effect”.
He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to ensure that the Nigeria Police Force is adequately equipped and funded to discharge its duty of ensuring internal security in the country, while the armed forces are restricted to the defence of the nation’s territorial integrity.

The statement read: Illegal involvement of armed forces in election duties

No doubt, President Olusegun Obasanjo engaged in the illegal deployment of the army for the manipulation of the 2003 general elections.
However, the courts have consistently enjoined the Federal Government to desist from involving the armed forces in the conduct of elections.
Thus, in the leading judgment of the Court of Appeal in Yussuf v Obasanjo (2005) 18 NWLR (Pt ) the Court of Appeal held that “It is up to the police to protect our nascent democracy and not the military, otherwise the democracy might be wittingly or unwittingly militarized.
This is not what the citizenry bargained for in wrestling power from the military in 1999.