2019 Elections: Soldiers Display Partisanship in Rivers, Bayelsa, Others – CTA
One of the election observer groups that monitored last Saturday’s Presidential/National Assembly elections ,the Centre for Transparency Advocacy, CTA, has alleged that military personnel deployed for the security of the exercise abandoned their core responsibilities and meddled openly in the conduct of the elections.
The group equally accused other security agencies for their tardy response to security breaches, as it argued that the incident in some cases led to self-help by those affected ,while describing the experience as, ”a call to anarchy.”
The CTA’s, preliminary report from its observers across the country, indicated that there were cases of the military preventing election observers from performing their legitimate duties even after proper identification.
Executive Director of the body, Mrs. Faith Nwadishi at a forum said that the group was concerned about killings by soldiers in Rivers, Bayelsa and Yobe States.
She cited a specific instance in riverine communities, where voters were turned away from accessing their polling units by soldiers , whom she alleged blocked their access roads.
Nwadishi said: ”The conduct of men of the armed forces deployed to flash points to ensure the security of lives and properties leaves much to be desired.
“In many instances, men of the armed forces left their primary responsibilities and became participants in the electoral process. Cases of such involvement in the electoral process were reported in places like Rivers, Bayelsa and Yobe states”.
Again, she alleged that there were cases of the military forces preventing Election Observers from performing their legitimate duties in spite of their proper identification.
“In some cases, we had reports of voters being turned away from accessing their polling booths as was reported in the riverine areas of Delta state where water ways were blocked,” she said.
The CTA Director also expressed grave concern over the manner, in many cases, where security agencies were slow in responding to security breaches. She lamented that the situation for some citizens led to self-help, describing such as ” a call to anarchy.”
But, Mrs. Nwadishi commended Nigerian voters for their zeal and resolve to vote despite challenges on their way coupled with the earlier postponement of the elections few hours before the scheduled commencement.
It will be recalled that ,in the last Saturday election, men of the Nigerian Army wearing yellow arm band mounted road barricades in strategic locations in Port Harcourt, apart from their conspicuous presence in some Rivers communities, making many to thread with fear.
