INEC: Attacks on Facilities Threaten Democracy, Elections

•Commission loses 1,105 ballot boxes, 694 cubicles in 41 incidents

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, yesterday lamented the continued vandalism of the commission’s assets, warning that it could weaken elections and democracy, if not properly addressed.

Yakubu said the commission lost 1,105 ballot boxes, 694 voting cubicles, 13 utility vehicles and 429 electricity generating sets in 41 incidents nationwide.

Yakubu, at a meeting in Abuja with security chiefs under the aegis of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Electoral Security (ICCES), therefore, renewed his call for closer collaboration between INEC and security agencies.

Yakubu said the last few weeks had been challenging for the commission.
He added that the spate of arson and vandalism targeting the commission’s facilities and property had become a major threat to its scheduled activities and the electoral process.
“In the last two years, the commission has recorded a total of 41 incidents involving deliberate attacks on the commission’s facilities. Nine of these incidents happened in 2019 and 21 cases in 2020. In the last four weeks, 11 offices of the commission were either set ablaze or vandalised.

“Two of these incidents were caused by Boko Haram and bandit attacks while 10 resulted from thuggery during the election and post-election violence. However, the majority of the attacks (29 out of 41) were unrelated to election or electoral activities.
“In fact, 18 of them occurred during the EndSARS protests in October last year while 11 attacks were organised by ‘unknown gunmen’ and ‘hoodlums.

“Although the commission is assessing losses during recent attacks, our preliminary assessment so far indicate that we lost 1,105 ballot boxes, 694 voting cubicles, 429 electric generating sets and 13 utility vehicles (Toyota Hilux),” he stated.
However, he said that “by working together with the security agencies, we can stop these attacks and the wanton destruction of critical electoral assets.”

He added: “These attacks, which initially appeared as isolated and occasional actions have now become more frequent and systematic targeted at demobilising and dismantling critical electoral infrastructure in the country.

“This will not only undermine the commission’s capacity to organise elections and other electoral activities but will also damage the nation’s electoral process and democracy. Indeed, these attacks on the commission’s facilities should now be treated as a national security emergency.”

According to him, the meeting will constitute a first step to finding a lasting solution to the challenges, adding that to disrupt the electoral process is to undermine democracy and destabilise the country.

He said the emergency meeting, originally scheduled for Monday, was rescheduled due to the death of a member of the committee, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, in a plane crash last week in Kaduna, along with 10 others.
He explained that since the conclusion of 2019 general election, the commission, working with the security agencies, has so far conducted four off-season governorship elections and 28 out of 32 by-elections.

In his response, the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd), pledged the cooperation of the security agencies in stopping the destruction of INEC’s assets.
He said: “It is important for us to sustain these processes which undoubtedly are not only international but morally accepted means of propelling ourselves into development in this century which is extremely turbulent.

“As Nigerians, obviously, we have seen a lot of activities with a lot of unwanted experiences which have affected the electoral process, activities, actions that have been carried out by non-state actors who are determined to scuttle this process which is supposed to be clean, transparent and allow the people self-determination.

“Of course, we are gathered here to look at means and ways of quickly, stopping the rising spate of criminality, violence and destruction with a national effort.”
Monguno promised that the Office of the National Security Adviser will always support all INEC activities, as well as all agents of government.