The dust is yet to settle over the use of military men to provide security during the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections.
Reactions from different segments of people revealed that many rather than applaud the move by the Federal Government, criticized the government for deploying the military.
In his argument against the use of the military, Barr. Ken Chukwudi, a Port Harcourt based legal practitioner stated that in the army act no provision was made for the military in the election. But he expressed a different opinion saying, “you cannot rule out their intervention when things go wrong. Military should not be totally exempted from elections, they can only be called upon as the last result”.
He lamented that with the way military personnel were deployed in the February 23 elections, many Nigerians were apprehensive. He noted that the fears expressed were justified, especially in the aftermath of the election in Rivers State, and some parts of the country that left many dead.
Barr. Chukwudi said that in future elections, government should not make security of the process a military affair, but rather, “let there be collaboration with other security agents where the military will feature last”.
According to him, the military involvement may have influenced the low turnout of the people. He also advocated use of contemporary technology that will ensure that Nigerians can exercise their voting right in any part of the country. “Your PVC should be transferrable, this same way your ATM card can be used to withdraw and transfer money in any parts of the country.
“Until, this is done, government will be limiting the participation of the people in the process and, where this is the case people’s confidence in the exercise will be lost with time”.
On his own part, Mr. Ikechukwu Ahaka, the programme officer of a Non-governmental body, Media Awareness and Justice Initiative, spoke on the sideline of the purported threats by the army GOC on governor Nyesom Wike and concluded that, based on the widespread allegations of the military involvement in the just concluded presidential election, especially based on events that played out in Rivers State, doubted the neutrality of the security agents in election matters.
The programme officer emphasized the need for the allegations made by Governor Wike (that there were threats to assassinate him) to be looked into. He said issues of that nature could affect governance negatively. He called the police to investigate the matter to prevent anarchy in Rivers State.
He cited a case where in INEC Rivers State Office, the head of voters education and publicity in Okrika, Chief Eduh Egabeor had alleged how some soldiers in connivance with “rogue INEC officials,” diverted the ward materials meant for Okrika.
He argued that, although INEC had promised to reschedule elections in parts of Rivers, Anambra and Lagos States where there were reported cases of electoral violence and ballot box snatching, he decried the death toll in the elections saying the development calls for concern in the country.
