Assaults: IGP Usman Baba tightens safety at INEC places of work nationwide

Inspector-Basic of Police, Usman Baba, has ordered that safety be beefed up round all services of the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) within the nation. 

Mr Baba gave the order to the Commissioners of Police in all of the 32 states of the nation, together with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. 

The directive adopted the brazen assault on the services of INEC in each Ogun and Osun states on Thursday by yet-to-be-identified arsonists. 

The criminals, needed by the police, destroyed hundreds of everlasting voter playing cards awaiting collections through the assault on the state’s places of work of the electoral physique. 

It was gathered {that a} whole of 65,699 PVCs, 904 poll bins, 29 voting cubicles, 30 megaphones, 57 election baggage and eight electrical energy mills had been destroyed and broken in Ogun by the suspected hoodlums.  

In Osun, a portion of the INEC’s workplace was razed by the arsonists. 

Police spokesperson, Muyiwa Ogunjobi, who relayed the directive of the IGP, mentioned the order was a part of measures to forestall one other assault on the properties of the electoral physique. 

“The directive given by the Inspector-Basic of Police, Usman Baba, to officers is that they need to shield all INEC services. Therefore, it’s for the Commissioners of Police within the states to design how greatest they’ll shield INEC services inside their Instructions,” he advised PUNCH.

“The IGP can’t go to each state to get that performed. That is non-negotiable, the IGP has on condition that management platform, directive, and the strategic clues for them to deploy, so we count on each Commissioner of Police to fortify INEC services of their areas of duty,” Mr Ogunjobi added.

He defined additional that the IGP additionally gave a marching order to the commissioners to make sure the arrest of culprits concerned within the assaults on INEC’s services. 

In lower than 5 months, Nigerians would go to the polls to train their franchise and vote for the nation’s subsequent chief, who would succeed president Muhammadu Buhari. 

The nation’s electoral physique has fastened February 25, 2023, for the presidential election and 18 political events have fielded candidates for the election.

That of governorship and state Homes of Meeting can be held on March 11, 2023. 

In the meantime, the Nationwide Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, has mentioned the assaults on the services of the electoral physique wouldn’t cease the conduct of the 2023 elections. 

Mr Yakubu, nonetheless, warned that if pressing steps weren’t taken, the assaults would intensify because the nation prepares for subsequent yr’s election.

“As we now have said on a number of events, election is a multi-stakeholder exercise involving not simply INEC and the safety businesses. The political class performs maybe essentially the most vital position in making certain peaceable elections. We should all rise to the event. Nigerians are watching us. The world is watching us. We mustn’t ever disappoint them.

“The fee needs to reassure Nigerians that we stay dedicated to delivering credible elections despite the challenges. The try to sabotage or weaken our resolve is not going to deter us from conducting clear elections wherein solely the votes solid by Nigerians on Election Day will decide winners of elections,” Mr Yakubu mentioned on Friday. 

He demanded the rapid arrest and prosecution of these behind the assaults on INEC services, stressing {that a} peaceable marketing campaign was vital for the success of the election.

“It is vital that we transfer swiftly to apprehend perpetrators, prosecute them as required by regulation and reinforce safety round election officers and electoral infrastructure across the nation,” Mr Yakubu added. 

In response to him, the electoral physique was taking steps to restore the broken buildings and exchange the burnt PVCs.

In October 2022, Mr Yakubu had projected that 95 million Nigerians would vote in 176, 846 polling models throughout the nation within the 2023 common election. 

“There are 18 political events within the race to supply the following President to be elected by 95 million voters. We had over 84 million registered voters in 2019.  

“However with the final Steady Registration of Voters (CVR), we’re going to add at the very least 10 million Nigerians and that can take the Register of Voters to 95 million. And these 95 million residents will vote in 176, 846 polling models,” he mentioned at an occasion held within the U.S.

The occasion was organised by the Nationwide Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the Worldwide Basis for Electoral Methods (IFES).

With the resurgence of arson focused on the INEC places of work and the destruction of vital property and properties for the profitable conduct of the 2023 common election, Nigerians concern a unstable electioneering season because the nation begins the countdown to the polls.