INEC admits EFCC, ICPC into ICCES, calls for synergy among security agencies
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has admitted two leading anti – graft agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) as members of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
This is in recognition of the collaboration of the two bodies with INEC to stem the menace of vote- buying and other forms of financial inducement in Nigeria’s electoral process.
Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this while welcoming heads of the two organisations into an expanded meeting of ICCES held at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja at the weekend.
Yakubu recalled that at the last meeting of the committee, concerns were raised about the dimension that illegal deployment of financial resources to influence the outcome of elections, including vote-buying at polling units on Election Day has assumed.
The chairman said the meeting, recognised the existing collaboration with the anti-corruption agencies in tracking financial flows for illicit purposes as well as the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators of such flows, especially for the purpose of corrupting the electoral process through vote-buying,
“INEC resolved that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) should be included as members of ICCES.
“On this note, it is my pleasure to welcome the acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu as well as the Chairman of the ICPC Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye to this meeting as members of ICCES,” he said.
While INEC admitted that it is the responsibility of the security agencies to secure the environment for the successful conduct of elections, Yakubu expressed reservation over lack of synergy in the operations of the different security bodies in the election process.
“The purpose of security deployment during elections is to protect the voters, election officials and materials, accredited observers, the media and to safeguard the integrity of the processes generally, including the polling units and collations centres.
“The commission is concerned that security deployment in some of the most recent elections left much to be desired.
“There is more emphasis on numbers of security personnel to be deployed but less consideration on strategic deployment to protect the process, leaving the voters, election officials, party agents, observers, the media and even unarmed security personnel at polling units vulnerable to attacks by thugs and hoodlums.
“Furthermore, there is emphasis on numbers of security personnel, but less on synergy, coordination and collaboration among the various security agencies in line with the purpose for which ICCES was established in the first instance,” Yakubu pointed out.
The chairman suggested to the meeting which had in attendance the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd) and the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu as well as security chiefs and heads of paramilitary agencies, a new approach to be implemented during the re-run elections in 28 constituencies on January 25.
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He said that “we must adopt a different approach to election security. We must translate the new approach to reality in the forthcoming re-run elections such that Nigerians will see a qualitatively different security arrangement.
“No thugs and hoodlums can be more powerful than the Nigeria Police and other security agencies. It is the failure to act decisively and collaboratively that encourages thuggery and serves as an incentive for bad behaviour.”
