Nigerian democracy threatened as B/Haram, bandits,thugs, EndSARS protesters attacks 41 INEC offices – Yakubu

*1,105 ballot boxes, 694 voting cubicles, 429 generating sets, 13 utility vehicles destroyed 

*We ‘ll extinguish whatever impedes our electoral, political process – NSA

Tunde Opalana, Abuja

For the upteenth time, the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has warned that Nigerian democracy is under serious threat should the nation’s security community fail  to stop the unfortunate trend of attacks on facilities of the Commission.

He disclosed that between the 2019 general election and last Monday, 41 offices on the Commission in 24 states of the federation came under attacks as a result of election- related violence, protests unrelated to elections and activities of thugs and unknown gunmen/ hoodlums.

Attacks were carried out in Osun, Lagos, Ondo, Bayelsa,Kaduna, Borno, Taraba, Imo, Anambra, Abia,Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Enugu and Ebonyi states.

He said it is imperative that security operatives rise up to the challenges by continuing  to work jointly in the national interest to ensure that elections in Nigeria are not only free and fair, but secure and safe.
 
The chairman gave these details in Abuja on Thursday at an emergency meeting with members of the Inter- Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICESS), in which the National Security Adviser and Co-Chairman of ICCES Maj. Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd) and heads of various security agencies and para – military agencies were in attendance.

In attendance were the Acting Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba Usman, Director General, Department of State Security, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa.

Represented at the meeting were, the  Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Lucky Irabor and other Service Chiefs, the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Controller-General of the Federal Fire Service (FFS) and the Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Director General, Nigerian Intelligence Agency,  Commandant General, Federal Road Safety Commission, Comptroller General of Customs, and Controller General, Nigerian Immigration Service

Prof Yakubu at the meeting said “No doubt, the last few weeks have been very challenging to the Commission.

The spate of arson and vandalisation targeting the Commission’s facilities and property has become a major threat to our scheduled activities and the entire electoral process.

“In the last two years, the Commission has recorded a total of 41 incidents involving deliberate attacks on the Commission’s facilities. Nine of these incidents happened in 2019 and 21 cases in 2020.

In the last four weeks, 11 offices of the Commission were either set ablaze or vandalised.

“Two of these incidents were caused by Boko Haram and Bandit attacks while 10 resulted from thuggery during election and post-election violence. However, the majority of the attacks (29 out of 41) were unrelated to election or electoral activities.

In fact, 18 of them occurred during the EndSARS protests in October last year while 11 attacks were organised by “unknown gunmen” and “hoodlums”.
 
“Although the Commission is assessing loss of materials during recent attacks, our preliminary assessment so far indicates that we lost 1,105 ballot boxes, 694 voting cubicles, 429 electric generating sets and 13 utility vehicles (Toyota Hilux).

“These attacks, which initially appeared as isolated and occasional actions, have now become more frequent and systematically targeted at demobilising and dismantling critical electoral infrastructure in the country”.

The chairman said  “this spate of attacks  will not only undermine the Commission’s capacity to organise elections and other electoral activities but will also damage the nation’s electoral process and democracy”.

Warning that these attacks on the Commission’s facilities should now be treated as a national security emergency, he said “by working together with the security agencies, we can stop these attacks and the wanton destruction of critical electoral assets.

“Under the auspices of ICCES, we should ramp up our activities to curtail these unjustifiable acts of aggression. This will entail not only drawing on our separate and collective resources within ICCES, but also increased collaboration with citizens, communities and all stakeholders”.

 Speaking, National Security Adviser, Major General Monguno (rtd) said it has become necessary to sustain the nation’s  electoral process which undoubtedly are not only international but morally accepted means of propelling the country into development.

But he said a lot of unwanted experiences which have affected the electoral process, activities, and actions that have been carried out by non-state actors who are determined to scuttle this process which is supposed to be clean, transparent  and allow the people self determination.

He promised INEC of collaboration in finding  means of quickly  stopping the rising spate of criminality, violence and destruction, stressing that his office  has always remained steadfast, resolute and unrelenting in supporting all the activities of INEC.

Monguno promised that  “we are at hand to make sure that the people’s will be sustained, regardless of whatever happened, regardless of any individual inclinations without cause hampered by a lot of non -state actors who are determined to dislodge this effort, but I am hopeful that the outcome of this meeting will be very productive.

We should be able to make some strides towards extinguishing whatever impedes   our electoral and socio political landscape.

“I want to encourage my colleagues in the intelligence community, to please, enhance the efforts of those operational elements that have been supporting our efforts”.

Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba said policing elections is a task that must be accomplished by the Nigerian Police as the leading election security agency.

He said he will charge all state police commissioners to provide adequate security around INEC facilities in their respective domains to protect staff, properties and sensitive and Non- sensitive election materials.