THE Incident Centre for Election Atrocities (ICEA) has frowned at the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) preparation for last Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections.
ICEA said INEC allowed many lapses, including the lateness of its officials to polling units, bringing wrong materials or insufficient ballot sheets to polling units, and disenfranchising the elderly and persons with disabilities because they could not endure very long queues.
In a statement signed by the Head of its Secretariat and Executive Director of Global Rights, Abiodun Baiyewu, the Centre condemned the violence that characterised the polls.
At least, 10 persons died from the violence from the polls in Edo, Taraba, Rivers, Gombe, Abia and Kogi states, while, at least, seven persons, including three INEC ad-hoc staff, were abducted on election day in Taraba and Kaduna states, ICEA said.
The group decried the threat by hoodlums on voters who they assumed would vote for opposition parties or candidates from certain ethnic groups.
It also berated lawlessness by urchins and thugs who disrupted the polls by chasing voters away, snatching ballot boxes and fleeing with voting materials.
“Despite attempts at voter suppression through violence and ballot snatching by unscrupulous elements, Nigerians defied the odds and came out in significant numbers to exercise their franchise, even in areas that were widely acknowledged as flash points,” ICEA stated.
Besides, it expressed disappointment with the reported failure of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) at some polling units, and with INEC’s failure to upload the election results on its server as required by the Electoral Act.
The failure cast a strong shadow on the transparency of the elections and gave room to its results manipulation, said the team.
Speaking on the extent of violence during the polls, the group noted that its findings showed that Lagos, Kogi and Edo states recorded the highest levels of voting disruptions caused by violence.
The organisation also deplored attacks on journalists and election observers during the polls.
“Dayo Aiyetan, the Executive Director of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) was attacked at the Agwan Fulani Town Hall, Gwagwalada town, FCT, while he was covering the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
“Six other journalists – Akam James, Daily Post’s state correspondent Princewill Sede, the publisher of Upfront news magazine Jeany Metta, the managing editor of Upfront news magazine Joe Kunde, and a reporter of TVC and cameraman, Mr Miebi Bina – were assaulted and chased away when thugs attacked the Ebelebiri community Ward 05 unit 19 in Bayelsa State on February 25, 2023.
“Adebola Ajayi, a Lagos metro beat reporter at the Peoples Gazette, was manhandled and his phone temporarily confiscated for attempting to take footage when thugs attacked a polling unit in the Oshodi area of Lagos state,” the Centre narrated.
The team also noted the roles of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the security agencies during the exercise. It commended the EFCC and the police for apprehending politicians who attempted to buy votes.
However, it explained that many security officers could not help to control the crowd during the elections.
It said the 2023 elections represented a critical moment for the country’s future, and for West Africa.
“As the collation and announcement of results are underway, ICEA calls on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to maintain political neutrality in the election process.
“We also call on the Inspector General of Police to ensure the arrest and prosecution of all persons indicted in the political violence and manipulation recorded, including its personnel who were compromised and deliberately looked the other way while voters were being attacked and intimidated at the polls,” it stated.
