35,000 Cops Arrive Edo as Joint Forces Begin Patrol

Ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State, the first batch of the 35,000 police officers deployed to ensure law and order during election has arrived in the state, The PUNCH has learnt.

Also in the state are soldiers and officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as moves intensify to ensure a hitch-free poll.

Seventeen political parties presented candidates for the poll but the All Progressives Congress candidate Senator Monday Okpebholo, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party are the leading contenders ahead of the ballot.

The Defence Headquarters said the deployment of soldiers was meant to guarantee a safe environment for the electorate during the election.

Speaking in an interview with The PUNCH, the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, said the military would take steps to ensure the election was devoid of violence.

He said, “During elections troops are required to provide security in order to encourage high voter turnout as well as ensure the safety of voters. The forthcoming election in Edo will not be an exception. The military is resolute on taking steps to ensure a hitch-free election in Edo State.”

On Tuesday, armed soldiers were visible on the streets of Benin City, the state capital. An army truck with soldiers patrolled the Government Reservation Road, Ring Road and Akpakpava Road axis, apparently to announce their presence in the state.

The military presence has raised concerns after a Federal High Court in Lagos ruled in 2015 that the Nigerian Armed Forces had no role in the conduct of elections in the country.

The court relied on a Court of Appeal ruling that barred the use of soldiers in the conduct of elections, stating that it was a violation of Section 217(2)(c) of the Constitution and Section 1 of the Armed Forces Act.

Security expert, Taofik Onigbanjo, said the presence of the military personnel would deter thugs and miscreants from planning to foment trouble on or before Election Day but cautioned against using the soldiers to intimidate the state residents.

“The military presence is good to discourage those who are may want to cause trouble on before the election. I have seen the soldiers in several areas in town and their presence will be good for the smooth conduct of the election,” Onigbanjo said.

“However, the election should not be too militarised so that it will not appear like voters, party leaders and others are being intimidated because this can put a question mark on the credibility of the election.”

In a similar move, the first batch of the 35,000 police officers deployed for the election by the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, arrived in the Edo State capital on Tuesday. Spokesman of the Edo State Police Command, Moses Yamu, told The PUNCH that the Deputy Inspector-General that would supervise security for the election was being expected.

He said, “I can tell you that the officers that will join those in the Edo Police Command started arriving today (Tuesday). The DIG supervising the election will brief the media when he arrives in Benin soon.”

The NSCDC also deployed 6,433 personnel to ensure a peaceful and secure electoral process in the state.

The PUNCH learnt that the officers would arrive in Edo on Thursday.

The corps spokesperson, Afolabi Babawale, explaining the breakdown, stated, “The NSCDC will draw officers from neighbouring states, including 300 from Ondo, Delta (300), Kogi (300), Imo (300), Rivers (400), Bayelsa (350) and 250 officers from Enugu.

“Edo State will contribute 3,626 officers to the operation. Additionally, 607 special forces, including intelligence squads, anti-vandal units, and specialised security teams will be mobilised from the NSCDC national headquarters.”

He further stated that the Commandant-General of the NSCDC, Ahmed Audi, urged officers to remain neutral, professional, and disciplined throughout the election.

Babawale added that officers had been strategically deployed to flashpoints and potentially volatile areas to maintain law and order.

He added, “Security personnel will work in collaboration with other agencies to secure polling units, collation centres, and sensitive areas across the state.”

There’ve been fears that the economic hardship in the country could induce vote trading and buying in the poll.

The Transition Monitoring Group, a coalition of over 400 human rights organisation, which trained 100 observers for the election, last week called on the EFCC to deploy enough personnel to monitor vote buying and selling in polling units.

In June, EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, during a Town Hall meeting on voter’s sensitisation in Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area and at the Famcoop Hall, University of Benin, warned against vote buying and selling in the forthcoming election.

The EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, said the deployment had been made but didn’t disclose the figure.

He said, “We have deployed our officers to monitor the elections.  The officers are in appreciable numbers.”

A Benin resident, Mallam Hassan Alabidun, said vote buying could only be reduced but not completely eradicated, adding that gifts or provision of refreshments on Election Day could sway votes and change the mind of voters.

He said, “Vote- buying is not all about giving money to the electorate. We see party agents buying refreshments for voters on Election Day and that is also a form of vote buying because that gesture can sway votes the way of the candidate the agents represent.

“We also see that after voting party agents give money to people who they can confirm voted for their candidates. These are not new and it is expected to happen in this election.”

Chairman of the Edo State chapter of the Conference of Registered Political Parties, Samson Isibor, admitted that it would be difficult to reject some of the offers but urged the electorate to collect the money and vote their conscience.

He said, “For me, this is an unwelcomed development, any political party that wants to buy votes does not mean well for the people and the state. What they are engaging in is transactional politics, where buying and selling of votes becomes the order of the day.

“We do not want politics to degenerate into this. Those who buy votes are not coming to serve the people. You don’t need to buy votes from people you want to serve. All you have to do is sell your manifesto to them.

“I will urge the people to be careful with these types of politicians who are bent on getting to power by hook or crook. They are very dangerous and cannot be trusted. My advice to the people is to collect the money, which is theirs in the first place, and vote their conscience.

“The people should please not mortgage their conscience and lives. There is economic problem in the country, which has resulted into lack of food, so don’t further put yourselves into trouble by selling your votes.”

Source: Punch