Rights group alleges complicity of security agents in Rivers State violence, others

CAMPAIGN for Democracy and Development (CDD) yesterday expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of security agents in the just concluded Rivers State Governorship and House of Assembly poll.

CDD’s Director, Idayat Hassan, while reviewing the conduct of the elections across the country, maintained that the conduct of security agents in Rivers State was particularly disturbing.

CDD however, acknowledged that the conduct of security agents had a positive impact on the electoral process since apart from providing security for the movement of INEC officials and electoral materials, their intervention thwarted electoral violence in many part of the country.

Frowning at cases of electoral violence and malpractices carried out at the poll across the country, CDD noted that it was imperative that the electoral laws setting out the penalties for electoral offences be fully implemented and offenders prosecuted as a deterrent.

It maintained that given the lack of precedents of prosecutions for electoral offences in Nigeria, the activation of penalties for malpractice in the election would represent another important milestone in the country’s democratic development.

On the level of complicity of security agents, particularly in the Rivers poll, CDD noted: “Besides reports of killings, there were also cases of arson, attacks on INEC officials and hijacking of electoral materials. For example, the INEC RAC Centre in Buguma LGA and the house of the Rivers state Commissioner of Women Affairs were reportedly set ablaze and in Asari Toru LGA; seven vehicle transporting electoral materials were reportedly burnt.

Additionally, in Gokana LGA, the police apprehended men in fake military uniform with identity cards.
“This high level of violence and disruptions of the electoral process were witnessed in Akwa Ibom State as well. These happenings raise questions around the quality of the elections and validity of the final outcomes.

“However, there were some cases of complicity of security agents in disrupting the exercise. Serious cases of electoral fraud and violence in several states, particularly Rivers State, were reported to have occurred with the active connivance of security agents. There was also a case of the harassment and intimidation of some journalists in Rivers State. It was also noted that security agents maintained passive disposition in the face of clear breaches of electoral procedures.”

Acknowledging punctual and orderly accreditation of voters, CDD said actual voting commenced on schedule across the 36 federal states of the country, CDD applauded INEC on the improved functionality of the smart card readers (SCRs) in the poll.

CDD also gave an insight why there was low voters turnout during the conduct of the poll across the country thus: “Overall voter turnout was low compared to the Presidential and National Assembly elections. This may be connected to several factors such as: the tense electoral environment across the country; pre-election violence; the false assumption that the desired ‘change’ has been attained with the outcome of the federal elections and will therefore automatically engender solutions to the problems of governance at the state level; possible voter exhaustion from the emotionally-charged presidential elections; and the thinking of some voters that their votes would not influence the final outcome.

Much as the electoral processes and procedures were found to be largely satisfactory, the conduct of the political parties, particularly the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC), was less so.

“The high level of reported cases of hijacking of election materials and confrontations between politicians and their party supporters led to the disruption of the election process in many areas.”