Posted by Residents, political parties, and the electoral umpire in the states of Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa remain extremely concerned about the security danger in the months leading up to the gubernatorial elections.
According to the TWISCOLOADED, non-state actors like feared bandits, unknown gunmen, and political thugs could compromise the elections unless security agencies can stop them.
Already, people in Kogi and Imo are worried because of the criminal elements that are out there doing havoc on the innocent.
Kogi’s poll may be disrupted by thugs’ actions, as seen in the past general elections, but Imo voters and INEC officials may have to deal with the unknown gunmen.
Worryingly, gunmen and suspected herdsmen have been on the loose in Bayelsa State, targeting farmers, residents, and even security personnel.
Kogi
Members of opposing political parties continue to brawl around the state, and there have been reports of recent attacks on political stalwarts.
According to the Kogi State government, supporters of Yahaya Bello’s political opponent, Muritala Ajaka, attacked the governor’s motorcade on June 3.
Mr. Ajaka is the Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) nominee for governor. Until he was defeated in the All Progressives Congress’s (APC) governorship primary, he was a member of the governor’s party.
Kingsley Fanwo, the state’s commissioner for information, said that Governor Bello narrowly avoided being killed in an attack on his convoy by the SDP candidate. The commissioner claims that several of the governor’s staff were hurt in the attack.
However, on September 30, it was reported that several people were injured in an attack on an SDP demonstration in Koton-Karfe.
The SDP gubernatorial campaign committee had warned that state governor Yahaya Bello and police commissioner Berthrand Onuoha were plotting an attack on party members before to the Koton-Karfe incident. The allegations were later disproven by the police.
Senator Dino Melaye, a candidate for governor in the next November election on behalf of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said on Thursday, October 12 that he had been the target of four separate attempts on his life.
Violence is “in the DNA” of the ruling APC, the ex-lawmaker said, so of course they would try it.
Multiple attempts have been made on my life. The APC has always had a history of violence, so this is nothing new. Like an awful wilderness in urgent need of renovation and a saviour, he likened Kogi State.
SP William Ovye Aya, the state’s police public relations officer, told TWISCOLOADED on Saturday that the command had held a series of meetings with important stakeholders and opinion leaders to encourage all sides to “give peace a chance.”
When asked what the command is doing to ensure a peaceful election, the PPRO stated, “the command has been engaging the stakeholders.” The sessions, which were called for by the Commissioner of Police to discuss election security, have been ongoing.
The Attah of Igala and other state officials have been visited by the Commissioner. He went to Anyigba and Ida to urge residents to forgo violence in favor of giving peace a chance so that all eligible voters may cast ballots.
We’ve been talking to party leaders and will keep doing so until they start having conversations with their followers about how to put an end to the violence.
We’ve contacted church and mosque officials to have them spread the word. We’ve talked to numerous local movers and shakers and asked them to spread the word to their constituents.
We have also convened multiple meetings with our state’s DPOs and tactical and operational commanders. We briefed them on ways to include constituents at the departmental level as well.
We warned them that assaulting another individual is not tolerated and that law enforcement will take action against those responsible.
We have been having this conversation over the airwaves. In addition, we have been doing a series of trainings over the past week with the goal of facilitating trouble-free elections across the state.
Imo
The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militant arm, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), are rumored to have their operational headquarters in Imo State, namely in the Oru East and Orlu Local Government Areas of the state.
agitators in Imo State had threatened that elections wouldn’t take place if the mystery gunmen who had been terrorizing the area weren’t stopped.
After declaring that the people of the Southeast don’t want elections because they want Biafra independence, self-proclaimed Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile Simon Ekpa ruled out holding any kind of vote there.
Several government buildings have been attacked and destroyed by the feared gunmen, who are alleged to be loyalists of Ekpa, in Imo and other parts of the province.
The perpetrators killed election workers, police, and military personnel, and destroyed INEC facilities just days before the most recent general election.
In the last election, approximately one hundred National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members who had been trained to serve as adhoc staff stayed home out of fear of the gunmen.
President General of the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, Goodluck Ibem, spoke on the current situation in Imo State ahead of the November election, telling TWISCOLOADED that the election may not hold in certain places where the bloodthirsty miscreants have taken hostage.
Before, during, and after the election, Ibem urged both the federal and state governments to protect the lives of residents of Imo State.
He emphasized that everyone has a right to feel safe in their own homes and that this right must not be infringed upon under any circumstances.
He claims that on election day, people in some parts of Imo State won’t feel secure going out to cast their ballots. Insecure areas of the country, such as the Orlu LGA, may not have elections at all.
“The gunmen have been randomly shooting civilians in those regions. It’s possible that problems aren’t widespread in Owerri, the state capital.
The Federal Government should work to improve safety in the state of Imo so that citizens can freely exercise their right to vote in the upcoming election.
It’s not even the election itself that this is about. Governments have an obligation to safeguard the lives of their subjects. This is a matter of constitutional law. Everyone has the inherent right to live and the ability to go anywhere they like.
To protect individual rights is the government’s first priority. If people don’t enjoy basic freedoms like life and movement, then the government has failed.
Bayelsa
Criminal elements have been disturbing the calm in a number of towns across Bayelsa, despite the fact that the state is generally more tranquil than neighboring Imo and Kogi.
The Traditional Rulers Council of Bayelsa State warned on August 25 that there were plans afoot to incite violence ahead of the November 11 elections, particularly in the Brass, Ekeremor, and Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas.
HRM King Bubaraye Dakolo of the Ekpetiama Kingdom, who also serves as Chairman of the Traditional Rulers Council, sounded the alert in Yenagoa.
King Dakolo further, saying that traditional rulers in the three LGAs have information suggesting that political violence is being planned in advance of the upcoming election.
Before, during, and after the gubernatorial elections, he urged law enforcement to take concrete measures to safeguard the safety of the people of Bayelsa State.
According to TWISCOLOADED , locals are scared about voting in the gubernatorial election because of the alarm and other criminal activity in the state.
SP Butswat Asinim, public relations officer for the Bayelsa State Police, assured TWISCOLOADED on Saturday that the state’s upcoming election would proceed without incident.
He assured that the state’s security situation was not out of hand, despite the fact that there was a crisis.
We have taken all precautions to date to guarantee that the campaign and the elections will go without incident.
There is currently no security situation in the state that exceeds our capabilities. Even if we do experience some problems, they won’t be catastrophic.
We ask that the public continue to help the police keep the peace and even strengthen it, he said.
The electoral umpire had already voiced alarm over the increasing insecurity in the three states prior to their gubernatorial elections,
Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, released a statement on October 9 in which he expressed regret that attacks had continued in some states despite efforts to ensure that party leaders warned their supporters against actions that could threaten the peaceful conduct of elections in Nigeria.
“The commission is concerned about the spate of insecurity and violence, including clashes among supporters of political parties and candidates in the forthcoming elections,” the INEC commissioner said, appealing to political parties and their candidates to avoid actions and utterances capable of heating up the polity.