₦airaland Forum

GlorifiedTunde:
It's already 6pm na

#NigeriaVotes: No planned activity before 6pm – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said there is no planned activity before 6pm when the National Collation Centre will open officially in Abuja.

The commission said it has a fluid situation and will respond to issues that may arise if need be.

The electoral umpire had on Saturday said it will resume activities at the National Collation Centre at 10am earlier today.

Police arrest nine for molesting voters in Lagos

By News Agency of Nigeria
February 23, 2019

Nine suspected cultists were arrested in Somolu area of Lagos for allegedly molesting electorate on their way to polling stations.

David Folawiyo, Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), monitoring the general elections in Lagos State, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the suspects were molesting electorate from exercising their franchise.

The AIG, in company of Lagos State police commissioner, Zubairu Muazu, said that the suspects were taken to Police Zone 2 Headquarters, Onikan, for further investigation.

Folawiyo said charms, a motorcycle and other items were recovered from the suspects.

Also speaking, Muazu said the exercise had been peaceful, stressing that information from his men across the Lagos State had been positive.

The Lagos CP said all INEC materials were escorted and delivered successfully to various centres and elections had begun.

“So far so good. Everything is going on according to plan. I am receiving feedback from my men all over the state, there is no negative report,” he said.

NAN reports that the AIG, CP and some other security agencies visited Ikeja, Oshodi, Mushin and other areas for monitoring.

Lagos Police Arrests 4 For Allegedly Burning Ballot Boxes In Okota, Oshodi/ Isolo

The police in Lagos have arrested four persons in connection with the disruption of voting and destruction of voting materials in Okota, Okota in Oshodi/Isolo council area of Lagos State.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Zubairu Muazu, made the disclosure during a visit to the affected polling units.

Muazu was in company with an Assistant Inspector-General of Police monitoring elections in Lagos State, Mr David Folawiyo.

Muazu said that the suspects would soon be charged with disrupting elections and damage to election materials.

The hoodlums had set ablaze some ballot boxes at Polling Unit 18 located at the junction of Ohafia/Ago Palace Way, Okota.

The incident occurred midway into voting at the booth, causing voters and INEC ad-hoc staff to run for safety.

The hoodlums also disrupted voting at Polling Unit 23 located on Baba-Ewe Street/Ago Place Way.

It was gathered that a group of boys in tricycles and motorcycles stormed Polling Unit 18 and few other polling units and attempted to force voters to vote for a particular party.

The group fled when a team of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command arrived at the scene.

SARS had shot into the air.

However, the hoodlums returned when the police left. They attempted unsuccessfully to snatch the boxes, and then burnt some.

They also disrupted voting at Polling Units 035 and 036 located at Adeneken Street/Alhaji Olusesi Street Junction and Adeneken Street/ Ago Palace Way, respectively.

Although the ad-hoc staff and some voters returned later at the polling booths, voting did not continue until the time of this report – 3.50p.m.

blank:
What does "emplaces" mean?

To put into position

naptu2:
2) Security arrangement

Now, I need to explain the security arrangement that's usually in place on election day.


There used to be armed policemen at the polling stations at all the elections that I witnessed from 1979-2003. In fact, I was involved in bizarre incidents with armed policemen at polling units in November 1991 and in 1993.

Then something quite unusual happened in 2007 that led to a backlash. The Obasanjo administration deployed soldiers on the streets ahead of, during and after the 2007 election. It was so unusual that people asked if we were at war. There were heavy military road blocks at Law School junction on Victoria Island and at Falomo.

This kind of thing had never happened even when we were under military rule. The elections were usually policed by policemen and extra security arrangements were usually only made on the day of the election. I went out on election day in 1987 and 1993, after the curfew was lifted and there were no signs of extra security arrangements. I went out on the day before the election in 2003 and the only sign of extra security measures was when there was a show of force.

But in 2007 there were these military checkpoints before election day and for several days after the election.

People complained that our election was being militarised. Human rights groups and other civil society organisations complained that the presence of heavily armed security agents could scare away voters.

Subsequently it was decided that there should be no armed security agents at polling units.

So, when the president says that ballot box snatchers were risking their lives, he did not mean that policemen at the polling units would start shooting at everybody in sight. There is a buffer.

Now, how can you have an election in Nigeria without armed security officers?

In fact, some people complained that the fact that the security agents are unarmed is deliberate to make it easy for politicians to send thugs to disrupt the process. That's not true.

As you will see in the story below, there are arrangements to take care of any mischief makers.

The arrangement is that there are 3 or 4 levels of security. Security at the polling unit is provided by unarmed conventional policemen. That's the first level.

Then there are heavily armed special units (mobile police, counter-terror police, close protection unit policemen and military men) somewhere in the neighbourhood, either on patrol or at security installations, who can be called upon by the policemen at the polling centre in case there's any problem that is beyond their ability.

Then there are more units providing security at INEC headquarters and other strategic installations that are being used for the elections.

IgboTyphoon:
That one is out in the water. Are they doing election in the water ? No. So he is correct. Only northern faces