Olakunle Olafioye
The Federal Government has been called upon to investigate the illegal deployment of armed personnel in Rivers State and other states during the 2019 general elections.
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, who made this call yesterday in a statement, also called on the government to sanction military personnel and their civilian collaborators who engaged in the intimidation and killing of voters who trooped out to exercise their franchise on March 9, 2019.
Recalling how the All Progressives Congress, APC had in 2014 fought the then PDP-led government when the government deployed armed soldiers in Ekiti State for the governorship election and banned two APC governors- Adams Oshiomole and Rotimi Amaechi from entering Ekiti State, Falana said President Muhammadu Buhari owes the nation and posterity a duty to put an end to militarization of the electoral process in the country.
The statement read, “In 2014, the PDP-led government deployed platoons of armed soldiers in Ekiti State for the governorship election. A week before the election, the army banned two APC governors- Comrade Adams Oshiomole and Mr. Rotimi Amaechi from entering Ekiti State. During the election voters were subjected to horrendous harassment by the armed troops. The Court of Appeal condemned the illegal militarisation of the election. Embarrassed by the judicial indictment the authorities of the Nigerian Army probed the intimidation of voters in Ekiti State and flushed out the military personnel who exposed the Nigerian Armed Forces to ridicule.
“Having fought the PDP-led government for turning elections in Nigeria into a “do or die” affair President Buhari owes the country and posterity a duty to put an end to the militarisation of the electoral process. That in this day and age in this country that has been independent for 45 years we can still witness horrendous acts by security officers who ought to dutifully ensure peace and tranquility in the election process, suddenly turning themselves into agents of destruction, and introduced mayhem to what ordinarily would have been a civilized way of exercising franchise by the people who are sovereign, is regrettable,” he noted.
While noting that the electoral law empowers INEC to deploy security agencies during elections, Falana said, “ From the information at our disposal the Nigerian Army was not deployed by the INEC to provide security in any of the collation centres in Rivers State during the Governorship election on March 9, 2019. Neither were they deployed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to usurp police powers at the collation centres. Therefore, the Federal Government is called upon to investigate the illegal deployment of the armed personnel in Rivers State and other states during the 2019 general elections with a view to sanctioning the military personnel and their civilian collaborators who engaged in the intimidation and brutal killing of voters who trooped out to exercise their franchise on March 9, 2019.”