New Telegraph

We’ve suffered 41 attacks in 14 states -INEC

…wants ICCES declare attacks national security emergency

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it suffered attacks in 41 of its facilities across 14 states of the country between 2019 and May this year. INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who addressed an emergency Inter- Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) yesterday, said the spate of arson and vandalisation is a major threat to the scheduled activities and the entire electoral process. Prof. Yakubu stated that although the commission is still assessing loss of materials during recent attacks, preliminary assessment so far indicated that 1,105 ballot boxes, 694 voting cubicles, 429 electric generating sets and 13 utility vehicles (Toyota Hilux), were lost during the attacks.

He told the ICCES members, comprising the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major-General Babagana Muguno, the Inspector General of Police and the service chiefs, as members, to treat the attacks on the commission’s facilities as a national security emergency. “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. “This 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,” the INEC Chairman regretted.

He called for collective action by the committee to curtail “these unjustifiable acts of aggression,” adding that it will entail increased collaboration with citizens, communities and all stakeholders. Prof. Yakubu disclosed that the commission has undertaken its own internal review of the situation, stating that a meeting was held last week with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) and received briefings about these rising threats. “We are presently compiling the useful suggestions from the meeting and other internal review, which we hope to share with this body in due course.

“I understand that the security agencies are doing their own individual assessments. Beyond Election Day security, we look forward to creating a framework for an all-year round, end-toend protection of electoral facilities under the auspices of ICCES,” he said. He expressed the hope that the meeting would constitute a first step to finding a lasting solution to the current challenges.

“To disrupt the electoral process is to undermine our democracy and destabilise the country,” he said. Major-General Muguno, who is co-chair of ICCES, deplored the actions of non-state actors, who he said, were determined “to scuttle the process, which is supposed to be clean, transparent and allow the people self-determination.” He assured of the support of the Office of the National Security Adviser to all the activities of the INEC and agents of government. “We should be able to make some strides towards extinguishing whatever threatened electoral and socio-political landscape,” he said.

The NSA described the electoral process as not only practical expression of the people’s will, but also symbolic of the national mood According to statistics released by the commission, nine of the attacks on its facilities occurred in four states in 2019, 21 in nine states in 2020 and eleven in seven states this year. The statistics further added that two of the attacks were caused by Boko Haram and bandits while 10 resulted from thuggery during election and postelection violence. The majority of the attacks (29), the report added, were unrelated to election or electoral activities. This included 18 during the EndSARS protests in October last year while eleven were by unknown gunmen and hoodlums.

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