The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has
expressed disappointment at what it described as poor showing by the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the various security agencies during
last Saturday's presidential and National Assembly elections.
The body, which said it received field reports from more than
8,000 of its deployed observers and networks, across the country, regretted
that despite expectations that the presidential poll would be better organised
after the initial postponement, the exercise was marred by serious lapses on
the part of the electoral umpire and
security agents.
Giving an update on the casualty figures recorded
during the polls due to election-related violence, the Situation
Room stated that no fewer than 39 Nigerians lost their lives in the last 48
hours of the elections.
The breakdown of the dead are: Borno State– four; Bayelsa State - four;
Rivers State - 16, Yobe State- two; Kogi State-Two; Ebonyi – Two, Lagos – One; Oyo- One; Delta-
Two; Zamfara – One and Taraba State- Four.
In Lagos State, it said there were reports of disruption of
voting by suspected political thugs who shot in the air in some places and set
ballot boxes and papers on fire in places like Okota, Isolo and Oshodi suburbs
of Lagos.
The Situation Room also said that it had documented
cases of 260 politically motivated deaths from the beginning of political
campaigns in October 2018 to February
23, 2019.
While presenting its report to journalists in Abuja
on Monday, the Executive Director, Policy & Legal Advocacy Centre and
Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, Mr. Clement Nwankwo said that
apart from delays in the commencement of voting in some places, there were
reports of serious lapses concerning the conduct of some INEC officials and
security agencies.
He said the delay in commencement of polls was
especially pronounced in some states across the South-east and South-South
geopolitical zones of Nigeria, adding that there were even reports of polling
commencing at 4pm in some areas such as PU 001, Ward 5, Methodist Boys High
School, Oron, Akwa Ibom State.
"Situation Room is however disappointed by the
serious lapses observed with the conduct of the Presidential and National
Assembly elections held on Saturday 23 February 2019. Despite the elections
being conducted against a background of an earlier postponement on February 16,
2019, on grounds of logistics challenges, it still suffered from major logistic
lapses.
"Additionally, the election was marred by
violence, security lapses and instances of overreach. Other challenges include
compromised INEC officials as well as partisan security operatives. Conduct of major political parties was
disappointing," he said.
The Situation Room noted that despite the police’s
stated preparedness with deployment and adequacy of security, there were
shortfalls and gaps, with the attendant implications for election security.
It however singled out members of the National
Youth Service Corp (NYSC) as among the shinning lights during the elections,
saying that they were exemplary in their work under very difficult conditions.
The observer group suggested that INEC's logistics
capabilities, including its ability to carry out timely procurement may have
been overwhelmed by factors connected with the sheer number of political
parties contesting the elections.
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