OBSERVATION REPORT
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9 1 KOGI STATE 20194 19 16
5 2 15 GOVERNORSHIP17 3
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ELECTION7 8
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SITUATION ROOM REPORT OF OBSERVATION OF KOGI STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION 2019 2020 Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
All Rights Reserved
Situation Room Secretariat: c/o Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) Plot 451 Gambo Jimeta Crescent, Guzape District, Abuja, Nigeria
Telephone: 09095050505, 09032999919 Website: http://situationroom.placng.org Facebook: facebook.com/situationroomnigeria Twitter: @situationroomng TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
Background on the State 1
Voting Statistics for Kogi State Governorship Election 2019 2
Political Atmosphere before the Election 7
PRE-ELECTION ACTIVITIES 9
Situation Room Pre-Election Activities 9
Party Primaries 11
Preparations by INEC 14
Preparation by Security Agencies 18
ELECTION-DAY OBSERVATION 19
Structure and Methodology 19
Arrival, setting-up and Opening of Polls 20
Accreditation and Voting Process 20
Turnout and Conduct of Voters 22
Presence and Conduct of Party Agents 22
Vote Trading/Buying 22
ELECTION-DAY SECURITY 25
Thuggery, Intimidation and Election Violence 25
COLLATION PROCESS 29
POST-ELECTION OBSERVATION 31
Vote Tabulation and Declaration of Results 31
Reaction of Candidates/Parties 32
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 33
APPENDIX 37
INTRODUCTION
Background on the State
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted the Governorship election in Kogi State on Saturday, 16th November 2019, simultaneously with the Governorship election in Bayelsa State. These Governorship elections were conducted by INEC on the recognition and understanding of the needs for improvement and drawing lessons from the 2019 General Elections.
Kogi State, with a population of 3,314,043 according to 2006 Census, was carved out of Kwara and Benue States on August 27, 1991. It is one of the States in the north-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The State is popularly called the confluence state due to the convergence of Rivers Niger and Benue at Lokoja, the State capital. There are three main ethnic groups in the State namely Igala, Ebira, and Okun; with the Igalas being the largest ethnic group.
The last Governorship election in the State was conducted in November 2015, with the then candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Abubakar Audu dying before the conclusion of the election and being replaced by Yahaya Adoza Bello who came second in the Party primaries held ahead of the election. Mr. Bello was declared the winner of the election after a supplementary election was held on 5th December 2015 to conclude the process.
Kogi State has 21 Local Government Areas, 3 Senatorial districts, 9 Federal and 25 State constituencies. Local Government Council elections have not been held in the State since 2010. The Councils are presently administered by special appointees of the State Government.
The State is rich in mineral deposits such as iron ore, limestone, and coal, amongst others.
1 Local Governments by Senatorial Districts
KOGI CENTRAL KOGI EAST KOGI WEST
ADAVI ANKPA IJUMU AJAOKUTA BASSA KABBA-BUNU OGORI-MAGONGO DEKINA KOGI OKEHI IBAJI LOKOJA OKENE IDAH MOPAMURO IGALAMELA-ODOLU YAGBA EAST OFU YAGBA WEST OLAMABORO OMALA
LGA Map
2 Voting Statistics for Kogi State Governorship Election 2019
No. of Voting Points (VPs): 3,508
No. of Polling Units (P.U): 239
No. of Registration Areas (R.A): 2548
No. of Local Government Areas (L.G.As): 21
No. of Registered Voters: 1,646,350
No. of PVCs Collected as at 30th Sept., 2019 1,485,828 (90.2%)
No. of PVCs uncollected as at 30th Sept., 2019 160,522 (9.8%)
No. of Presiding Officers (POs): 2,548
No. of Assist. Presiding Officers (APOs) I: 2,548
No. of Assist. Presiding Officers (APOs) II: 2,548
No. of Assist. Presiding Officers (APOs) III: 2,548
No. of Assist. Presiding Officers (APOs) VP: 960
No. of Supervisory Presiding Officers (SPOs): 255
No. of R.A Collation Officers (COs): 239
No. of L.G.A Collation Officers (COs): 21
No. of Returning Officer (RO) for Gov. Election: 1
Gender Distribution of Voter Population
825,663 (50.1%) 820,687 (49.9%)
3 S/N LGA Hqtrs RAs/ PUs Wardss
1. Adavi Ogaminana 11 191
2. Ajaokuta Adogo 14 80
3. Ankpa Ankpa 13 176
4. Bassa Oguma 10 107
5. Dekina Dekina 12 217
6. Ibaji Onyedega 10 148
7. Idah Idah 10 89
8. Igalamela-Odolu Ajaka 10 90
9. Ijumu Iyara 15 79
10. Kabba-Bunu Kabba 15 96
11. Kogi (KK) Kotonkarfe 11 67
12. Lokoja Lokoja 10 105
13. Mopamuro Mopa 10 52
14. Ofu Ugwolawo 11 129
15. Ogorimagongo Akpafa 10 67
16. Okehi Obangede 11 176
17. Okene Okene 11 266
18. Olamaboro Okpo 10 124
19. Omala Abejukolo 11 128
20. Yagba East Isanlu 10 61
21. Yagba West Odo-Ere 14 100
TOTAL 239 2548
4 Distribution of Voters by Local Government Area
S/N LGA No. of Registered No. of Registered Voters Voters with PVCs
1. Adavi 105,906 91,786
2. Ajaokuta 73,836 64,079
3. Ankpa 142.912 118,016
4. Bassa 58,892 57,674
5. Dekina 166,165 151,753
6. Ibaji 76,575 73,701
7. Idah 56,743 54,485
8. Igalamela-Odolu 65,129 58,232
9. Ijumu 59,578 54,157
10. Kabba-Bunu 74,789 68,980
11. Kogi (KK) 53,590 51,097
12. Lokoja 137,301 118,673
13. Mopamuro 23,030 18,183
14. Ofu 88,958 74,727
15. Ogorimagongo 16,032 12,051
16. Okehi 82,180 75,086
17. Okene 131,166 129,681
18. Olamaboro 82,973 75,260
19. Omala 66,368 64,545
20. Yagba East 41,443 34,143
21. Yagba West 42,784 39,511
5 LGA Collation Centres
S/N LGA LGA COLLATION CENTRES CODE
1. Adavi 01 Local Government Secretariat, Ogaminana.
2. Ajaokuta 02 INEC Local Government Office, Adogo.
3. Ankpa 03 INEC Local Government Office, Ankpa.
4. Bassa 04 Local Government Secretariat, Oguma.
5. Dekina 05 Govt. Secondary School,
Dekina.
6. Ibaji 06 Local Government Council Secretariat, Onyedega.
7. Idah 07 INEC Local Government Office, Idah.
8. Igalamela-Odolu 08 INEC Local Government Office, Ajaka.
9. Ijumu 09 Local Government Secretariat, Iyara.
10. Kabba-Bunu 10 Local Government Secretariat, Kabba.
11. Kogi (KK) 11 Local Government Council Sec., Kotonkarfe.
12. Lokoja 12 INEC Local Government Office, Lokoja.
13. Mopamuro 13 Local Government Secretariat, Mopa.
14. Ofu 14 Local Government Secretariat, Ugwolawo.
15. Ogorimagongo 15 INEC Local Government Office, Akpafa.
16. Okehi 16 INEC Local Government Office, Obangede.
17. Okene 17 Local Government Secretariat, Okene.
18. Olamaboro 18 Local Government Secretariat, Okpo.
19 Omala 19 Local Government Secretariat, Abejukolo.
20. Yagba East 20 INEC Local Government Office, Isanlu.
21. Yagba West 21 Local Government Secretariat, Odo-Ere
6 POLITICAL ATMOSPHERE BEFORE THE ELECTION
The period leading up to the election in Kogi State was tense following developments in the State at the time. On October 21, 2019, less than a month before the election, Edward Onoja, former Chief of Staff to Governor Yahaya Bello was sworn in as deputy governor of the State, to replace Simon Achuba, who was controversially impeached by the Kogi State House of Assembly. Onoja was also Governor Bello’s running mate in the Governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Controversy trailed the said impeachment, as the panel set up to investigate allegations of gross misconduct against the former deputy governor absolved him of all the allegations. This raised questions as to the legality of the impeachment in the absence of an indictment by the panel. Critics argued that the impeachment was unconstitutional, as it breached the provision of section 188(8) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.
Also, the attack and destruction of property at the State secretariat of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Lokoja on 10th November 2019, less than a week to the election, raised concern as the governorship candidate of the party, Natasha Akpoti was a notable candidate who was expected to receive a fair number of votes at the polls, next to the candidates of the APC and PDP. In addition to the destruction of parts of the secretariat building, the campaign materials of the party were destroyed and replaced with campaign posters of the governorship candidate of another party. It will be recalled that Akpoti’s nomination by the SDP was invalidated by INEC, the reason being that the party had nominated an underaged candidate as her running mate. The party and its governorship candidate challenged this action by INEC and the court ruled in favour of the party, directing INEC to add the SDP to the ballot. The attack on the party’s secretariat came soon after this decision by the court. On 12th November 2019, only two days after the attack on the SDP secretariat, Akpoti claimed that she was harassed and denied access to the INEC Stakeholders’ meeting in Lokoja by suspected thugs in the presence of security agents, who failed to intervene. The meeting which had the INEC Chairman
7 and Inspector General of Police in attendance ended abruptly as the Police engaged the use of tear gas at the venue of the meeting.
The pre-election atmosphere was charged with fake news, as a co-ordinated group of fake news peddlers popularly known as ‘Data Boys’ or ‘Foot soldiers’ were reported to have been disseminating false information in different areas across the State, with the aim of promoting the interest of a particular political group.
8 PRE-ELECTION ACTIVITIES
Situation Room Pre-Election Activities:
Strategy Meeting on Peace Messaging with Civic Groups
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room convened a Meeting of Civic Groups and community leaders in Kogi State on Thursday, 5th September 2019 to deliberate on the political environment and develop a coordinated peace messaging strategy for achieving a peaceful Governorship elections in the State in view of the State’s records of election violence. CSOs had also reported of election-related security risks in their assessment of the State.
The outcome of the meeting was the development of relevant community-level peace building strategies and mass media engagement through information, education and communication (IEC) materials, social media and radio programme. Consequently, Situation Room designed and printed IEC materials for Civic Groups based in Kogi to use in their engagement with voters, and implemented a-twice weekly radio programme on topical election issues for five weeks ahead of the elections.
Training Session for Situation Room observers
On Wednesday, 25th September 2019 Situation Room organized a training workshop aimed at strengthening knowledge of election laws and improving skills of observers and partner Civil Society Organisations to watch, analyse and document the election process as well as report election-related incidents before, during and after the elections. Additionally, the training provided an opportunity to inform observe groups of Situation Room’s deployment plan and election-day incident reporting template.
9 Dialogue Session with Kogi REC and Commissioner of Police of Kogi State held ahead of the Election
On Thursday, 31st October 2019, Situation Room convened its usual Dialogue Session with the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. James Apam and Commissioner of Police, represented by DCP Sani Gwarzo Kabiru, to gain insights into INEC’s and Police’s level of preparedness for the election.
At the Dialogue Session, INEC declared that it had put in place, better processes and procedures for making returns hiding under the powers of section 68 and 75 of the EA.
INEC called on all election stakeholders to respect and protect the right of voters to free choice, without fear or intimidation. They asked that adhoc staff be allowed to serve without harassment and expressed zero tolerance for violence on its adhoc staff or siege of collation centres or making of returns under dubious circumstances.
INEC raised issues of parties nominating underaged candidates following their lack of knowledge of what the President assented on the age reduction bill and wrongly assumed that alterations to the constitution were effected across board and therefore nominated candidates below 35 years old for Governor/Deputy Governor.
The Commission underscored that the results of the elections would be transmitted manually, as prescribed by provisions of the Electoral Act and INEC Election guidelines.
10 INEC reiterated the use of Smart Card Readers (SCRs) for verification and authentication of voters, highlighting that the process is contained in its Guidelines for accreditation, and warmed Political parties about consequences of resisting the use of SCRs at polling units.
INEC urged the Nigerian people to have faith in the electoral process and work towards democratic consolidation, and assured Stakeholders that it would take out the positives from the Dialogue session and implement actionable ones.
Party Primaries
The nomination process and party primaries for Kogi State Governorship Election took place between August and September, 2019 at the State capital, Lokoja.
INEC revealed that it monitored the primary election process as provided by the Election Act. It further disclosed that 49 political parties submitted nomination forms to the Commission, out of which 8 nominations -including that of Social Democratic Party (SDP)- were invalidated by INEC, while 18 political parties withdrew their candidature during the substation window.
The All Progressives Congress conducted its primary elections on 29th August 2019 in Lokoja where the incumbent Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, emerged as the Party candidate for the Governorship election. Bello won the primaries by polling 3,369 votes to beat Mr. Babatunde Irukera who came second with 109 votes, and Seven other aspirants who participated in the primaries.
The APC had disqualified seven other aspirants from participating in the primary elections for failure to meet the Party’s requirements, and after extended controversies over the mode of the elections as some aspirants showed preference for direct primaries.
The opposition People’s Democratic Party held its primary elections on 3rd September 2019 at the State new stadium in Lokoja amidst report of violence and gun shots during sorting and counting of votes at midnight, where some delegates and aspirants reportedly sustained physical injuries. The PDP had accused the ruling APC of masterminding the attack and moved to another venue to conclude the process that produced Engineer Musa Wada as the Party’s candidate.
Mr. Wada scored a total number of 748 votes to beat Ibrahim Abubakar who came second with a total number of 710 votes and Eleven other aspirants, including the immediate past governor of the state and his older brother Idris Wada as well as Senator Dino Melaye participated. Both Mr Abubakar, who came second in the election, and Senator Melaye expressed dissatisfaction with the process and the outcome of the primaries to the Party’s leadership.
11 Candidates for Kogi State Governorship Election 2019
Following the disqualification of 8 candidates by INEC, the SDP and its candidate, Natasha Akpoti filed a case at a Federal High Court in Abuja against INEC’s action. The High Court, on 5th November 2019, about 2 weeks to the Governorship election, gave a judgement directing INEC to recognise her candidacy for the Governorship election. The Court declared that INEC has no power to disqualify a candidate in an election as it is only the exclusive of a competent Court of law, relying on the provisions of sections 31(1) and 83 of the Election Act that can do so.
The number of candidates for the elections was 24, as shown below:
S/ PARTY GOVERNORSHIP & DEPUTY GENDER AGE NO. GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATES
1. A Abdullahi Muhammed M 49
Ibitoye Roseline Abosede F 51
2. AAC Muhammadul-Kabir Abdul-Wasiu M 49
Umar Abdulrahman Ibrahim M 39
3. AD Medupin Ephraim M 55
Jibrin Mohammed Tenimu M 37
4. ADC Justina Dolapo Abanida F 61
Ibrahim O. Yusuf M 69
5. ADP Ndakwo Abdulrahman Tanko M 50
Tukura Joseph Jimba M 43
6. ANRP Orugun Emmanuel Olorunmowaju M 45
Ahmed Sa’eed Baba M 40
7. APC Bello Yahaya M 44
Onoja Edward David M 45
8. APGA Ibrahim Jibril Sheik M 42
Durojaiye I Hassan M 49
12 9. GDPN Bello Williams Dele M 46
Suleiman Mohammed M 53
10. GPN Victor Akubo M 45
Muhammed Rabi Bela Ladidi F 43
11. HDP Abdulmalik Adama Mohammed M 55
Adeboye Samuel Olu M 38
12. JMPP Alfa Amos Oboy M 47
Olayemi Olakunle Emmanuel M 52
13. MAJA Jimoh Amodu Yusuf M 38
Awoniyi Oyewole Omotayo Sunday M 58
14. NCP Muhammed Ibrahim Dangana M 40
Umar Abdulazeez Usman Odegiri M 39
15. PDP Musa Atayi Wada M 57
Samuel Bamidele Aro M 48
16. PPN Ukwumonu Joseph Idachaba M 49
Isa Karimu Yakubu M 61
17. PPP Moses Itodo Drisu M 52
Sule Isah Obewa M 44
18. PRP Ayodele Raymond Ajibola M 49
Tahir Yaqub M 46
19. SDP Natasha Akpoti F
M
20. UDP Abdulrazaq Baba Emeje M 46
Onemayin Paul Oluwole M 55
13 21. UPC Abuh Sunday Omogami M 55
Yakubu Isah M 46
22. YDP Shaibu Sani Seidi M 59
Onimisi Adedayo Benson M 38
23. YPP Aisha Abubakar Audu F 51
Suleiman Ozigi Ahmed M 54
24. ZLP Suleiman Mohammed Mikhail M 38
Alice Omolara Olorungbon F 35
Election Campaigns
On 17th, 2019, INEC issued the notice of Kogi State Governorship election as provided by section 30 (1) of the Electoral Act and lifted the embargo on campaigns.
Election campaigns by Political Parties and their candidates were filled with inflammatory rhetoric, vote buying and violence across the State. There were indications of proliferation of small arms and light weapons. These occurrences heightened the overall security risk in the State ahead of the election.
Preparations by INEC
INEC commenced preparation for the election with the release of timetable and schedule of activities for the election on 16th May 2019. The timetable contained 14 different activities and timelines of implementation, starting with issuance of the notice of election.
Registration of Voters
INEC did not register new voters ahead of the Governorship election in the State. However, the Commission conducted a Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) distribution exercise from 2nd to 30th September 2019 across the 21 Local Government Areas of the State. This exercise provided a window for registered voters who were unable to collect their PVC in the lead up to the 2019 General Election to do so ahead of the Governorship election.
At the conclusion of the exercise, a total number of 1,485,828 PVCs was distributed out
14 of the 1,646,350 PVCs received in the State.
Voter Education
INEC disclosed that it carried out series of stakeholders’ engagement activities with religious and cultural leaders, students and political party leaders. It also conducted door-to-door sensitization exercise in partnership with Civil Society and community- based Organisations. The activities were implemented to enlighten the citizens of the electoral process, and menace of vote trading, hate speech and fake news.
In addition, mapping of persons with disabilities (PWDs) and albinism was carried out to identify categories of voters with disabilities in order to provide relevant assistance such as braille ballot papers and magnifying glasses for this group of voters.
Election-Day Personnel & Training
INEC reported that it recruited Supervisory Presiding officers from Federal Ministries and Department in the State, and academic institutions were Presiding officers and their Assistants were recruited from among former and present members of the National Youth Service Corps.
The Commission also stated that it conducted training for officials of CSOs, PWDs, FBOs, GBOs and National Orientation Agency (NOA), Staff and Students of Tertiary Institutions, INEC Electoral Officers and Assistant Electoral Officers on effective voter education and public enlightenment ahead of the Election.
The Commission also carried out training for Financial Secretaries, agents of political parties, Electoral Officers and Assistant Electoral Officers on Party and Campaign Finance Tracking ahead of the Election.
The Electoral Institute (TEI) of INEC similarly trained Electoral Officers and Assistant Electoral Officers on polling and counting procedures as well as effective planning for elections and the management of ad hoc staff.
INEC Staff members working at the Election Management System Centre (EMSC) equally underwent relevant training. The EMSC is a tool designed to track and evaluation implementation of planned election activities in relation to the roadmap for the purpose of achieving efficiency and effectiveness. It reveals, per time, the level of preparedness of INEC ahead of the Governorship election.
Distribution of Election Materials
All the non-sensitive materials such as posters, pens, stamp pads, tapes, marker pens, twine rope, liquid gum, amongst others, were received from the National Headquarters and distributed to the LGA INEC offices in readiness for the conduct of the election.
15 Sensitive election materials were distributed in the presence of political parties’ agents and Security personnel 48 hours before the election from Lokoja Branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Transportation of Election Staff and Materials
INEC disclosed that it signed an agreement with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), and other relevant transport unions in the State for movement of election materials and officials during the 16th November Governorship election in the State.
Briefing of Election Stakeholders
On 12th November, 2019 INEC organized a Stakeholders’ Meeting in the State to interact with the wider election Stakeholders on its preparation and commitment to conduct a credible Governorship election in the State. The Meeting which was attended by the Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, and Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu as well as candidates of political parties in the election saw incidents of violence by political thugs, especially against the candidate of Social Democratic Party, Natasha Akpoti.
16 Also, INEC held a briefing for accredited observer groups in the week of the election, where it emphasized on the expectations of observers and the importance of credible election observation and reporting to the overall improvement of election process, management and administration.
Preparation by Security Agencies
The Nigeria Police is the agency responsible for ensuring peaceful environment, maintenance of law and order before, during and after elections. To build citizens’ trust to exercise their right to vote and be voted for; without fear of coercion, violence or manipulation, the Nigerian Police revealed that it will deploy additional 35,200 personnel to join other Policemen and women on election duty in the State.
The operational plan included:
• A minimum of three unarmed security personnel, including NSCDC, NIS, per polling unit. Personnel were meant to watch out for vote buying/selling and political thugs at polling unit.
• No escort of VIPs by security personnel, either in uniform or mufti.
• Restriction of movement must be strictly enforced by patrol team except those who are on essential service
17 • Security personnel on illegal duty, and those on uniform without election tag or identification at polling unit/collation centre shall be promptly arrested
• Security of Election Material
Deployment Areas:
State INEC Headquarters
LGA INEC office
Ward Collation Centres
Command Headquarters
“Corpers” Lodges
CBN Office
Power Installation
Communication Infrastructures
Other Public Utilities
18 ELECTION-DAY OBSERVATION
Structure and Methodology
Situation Room set-up an Election Situation Room divided into a team of Analysts, Technical team and Field Observers. Members of the Technical team are assigned a specific number of Filed Observers to received information from and verify incidents reported to the Situation Room by citizen observers. The verified reports are disseminated to the general public through social media to give the public real-time updates on the progress of the elections. The reports are also displayed on an information board at the venue of the Situation Room.
The Analysts dissect and use verified reports of field observers to do assessments of the election day activities, as well as escalate critical incidents in the reports to relevant authorities for intervention. The Situation Room usually conclude each phase of its planned activities by issuing press statements on the elections.
Deployment of Observers
Situation Room directly deployed 80 statutory observers and 20 roving observers across the 21 Local Government Areas of the State, in addition to the numbers deployed by its member organisations. The statutory observers set out at 7:00am to be at the first polling unit - start-point- to take note of the arrival of election officials and materials. Thereafter, the observers visited various polling units within their designated area while roving observers moved around different polling units and communities to observe the election and the election environment. The observers report their observation to the Technical Team in real-time, from polling unit set-up, opening of polls, accreditation and functionality of Smart Card Readers to sorting and announcement of results.
19 Arrival, setting-up and Opening of Polls
Early commencement of polls was observed in most areas across the State. However, in a few places, polls did not open on time. In Adavi LGA, Nagazi Farmland Ward, PU Zariagi 025 and 029, poll officials arrived at 10:59am. In Dekina LGA, Ojikpadala Ward, PUs 002 & 011 Agbeji Ojikpadala, polls opened at about 10:02am due to late arrival of INEC officials. In addition, election officials arrived late at most of the PUs in flood-affected areas.
In Bassa LGA, Akuba Ward I, PU 004 Lando Tuzuba opposite Government Secondary School, two election officials arrived at the polling unit without INEC identification but were sent back by the Police personnel at the polling unit.
Accreditation and Voting Process
Accreditation and voting commenced early in most of the Polling Units observed except for a few locations which was as a result of either late arrival of poll officials or failure of Smart Card Reader. The worst case observed was at PU 002, near old Post Office, Ifeolukotun II Ward, Yagba East LGA, where accreditation commenced at about 11:10am due to failure of card reader.
- Reports of failure of Smart Card Readers: There were few reports on this issue, indicating an improvement from the 2019 General Elections. Failure of card readers were observed in the aforementioned PU in Yagba East LGA as well as PU 009
20 Ganaja Primary School, Ajaokuta LGA; PU 002 Open Space, Ede Ward in Idah LGA; and PU 007 Imia, Ojila Ward of Ibaji LGA, amongst others.
- Thumb Printing of ballot papers and Ballot Stuffing: In LGEA Primary School II PU029 (Kabba Junction, Zango) in Adavi, thugs were reported to have taken some ballots papers from the ad-hoc staff, thumb printed on them within the School premises and went on to return the materials to the polling officials, which were then inserted into ballot boxes.
- 2015 ballot papers and stamp pads - In PUs 001-008, Dekina Town Ward in Dekina LGA, 2015 Governorship election stamp pads and ballot papers were being used and issued to voters, respectively, by polling officials instead of election materials for the 2019 Governorship election until voters started protesting. This observation was escalated to INEC (EO) who said that the mistake was made during distribution of materials. The correct materials were eventually delivered to the affected PUs about noon and voting continued afterward.
- Unavailability of Magnifying Glass - Seven (7) voters with Albinism were unable to cast votes due to the unavailability of magnifying glasses at PU001 Obeye Kekele, Anyigba Ward of Dekina LGA, despite commitments made by INEC to provide the glasses and other assistive materials to aid voters with special needs. However, the use of Form EC40H for PWDs was observed at PU 007, Adankolo New Layout, Lokoja Ward A.
21 Turnout and Conduct of Voters
The turnout of voters in the election was relatively low. This may not be unrelated to the tension and violence that pervaded the pre-election atmosphere, creating fear among the electorate about coming out to cast their votes. Voters generally conducted themselves properly and only scampered for safety when violence erupted in some areas in the State.
Presence and Conduct of Party Agents
In most of the Polling units covered, agents of four political parties were predominantly present, namely: APC, PDP, SDP and APGA. Across many PUs, party agents were observed attempting to induce voters with money ranging from N500 to N6,000 in support of their party.
Vote Trading/Buying
Incidence of vote trading was widespread throughout the elections, and perpetrated by many political parties, especially the APC and PDP. The locations that experienced trading of votes more openly include:
- Adavi LGA, Nagazi Farmland Ward, PUs 025, 025 and 029 where the Women leader of a party induced voters with N500 each to cast their votes for her party.
- Adavi LGA, Kuroko I Ward, PU016, where a political party agent was observed thumb-printing for voters and issuing them tickets to get paid.
- Ankpa LGA, Ward II, Anpka Ward II, where vote buying was reported in PU001 to PU003.
- Gboloko ward, PUs 002, 001, 011, 014, 015 and 016 where varying degrees of vote trading were observed.
- Ibaji LGA, Ujeh Ward, PUs: 001, 002, 003, 004, 007, 008 and 015, where vote trading activities were observed.
- Idah LGA, Ede ward, PU 002 Open Space, where votes were bought for a mounts ranging from N2,000 to N4,000.
- Lokoja LGA, Lokoja Ward A PU 007 Adankolo New Layout
22 - Ogugu Ward 1, PU 004, where voters were induced to vote for a particular party in return for the sum of N6,000 each.
- Ward B, PU 002 Karaworo Open Space, and Kakanda Ward, PUs 001, 003 and 008, where there were incidents of vote trading and intimidation of voters.
- Ogori -Magongo LGA, Ugugu Magongo Ward, PU 001, where vote trading was observed.
23 24 ELECTION-DAY SECURITY
There were numerous reported incidents of intimidation and violence perpetrated by political thugs across majority of the Local Government Areas of the State. However, Bassa, Ibaji, Yagba West Local Government Areas were largely peaceful during the election, with Bassa having the least number of reported incidents on election-day.
Thuggery, Intimidation and Election Violence
Political thugs were observed moving around freely in company of Police and DSS operatives across many LGAs, contrary to commitments made to the public by the security agencies and an election security operational plan that included restriction of movement. The activities of the thugs caused violence and disrupted the electoral process in several Wards visited. These include Lokoja Township in Lokoja LGA; Ganaja in Ajaokuta LGA, Anyigba in Dekina LGA, Ochadamu Ward in Ofu LGA, Oforachi in Igalamela- Odolu LGA, Asuta in Kabba-Bunu LGA, Odole in Mopa Muro LGA, Aiyetoro in Ijumu LGA Obangede in Okehi LGA, Imane in Olamaboro LGA, and Itedo in Yagba East LGA. Some specifics include:
- In Ijumu LGA, Aiyetoro Ward, PU004, thugs shot at a voter and carted away ballot boxes.
- Voters at PU007 Adankolo New Layout, Lokoja Ward A were also intimidated by thugs who opened fire in the polling unit.
- In Adavi LGA, Nagazi Farmland Ward, PU Zariagi 025 and 029, thugs compelled voters to vote for a particular party while the women leader of the party offered voters N500 each in return for their votes.
- PU 002, Odole II in Mopa Moro LGA, voters were forced to vote for a particular
25 political party by thugs. The votes were taken away without being sorted, counted or results announcement at the polling unit.
- Dekina Local Government, Anyigba Ward: PUs 003, 004, 007, 009, 014 and 025.
- In PUs 001-004, Obangede Ward in Okehi LGA, voters were coerced to cast vote for another party other than the party of their choice, in the presence of security agents and INEC officials. Election materials were also snatched away by thugs at PU 002, in the same Ward.
- In Ofu LGA, Ochadamu Ward, PUs 008, 009, 010 and 018, thugs snatched away ballot boxes.
It should be noted that it is not clear if the snatched ballot papers made their way into the collation process and results recorded for the PUs as INEC is yet to make public details of the PUs where votes were either cancelled or rejected.
Helicopter dispersed voters with gun shots - In the biggest polling in the State (PU 009, Ganaja Ward, Ajaokuta LGA), with a total number of 13,425 registered voters, sporadic gun shots from a helicopter was used to disperse voters. A number of people reportedly sustained varying degrees of injuries from the gun shots. One of these was the lodging of a bullet close to a sensitive part of a 23-year-old girl’s body, who was asleep in a room within a church premises at the time of the shooting.
26 Attacks on Observers – there were several reports of attacks on observers. An accredited observer’s cell phone was seized by thugs in company of Police personnel while attempting to take photograph of thugs stuffing ballots at PU 004 Lokongoma, Lokoja Ward A in Lokoja LGA.
Also, thugs attacked another set of accredited observers on their way home from PU 009, Ganaja Ward, Ajaokuta LGA.
Observers were asked to vacate PU 003 LGEA Primary School Amoke in Anpka Ward II at Ankpa LGA by a masked security officer attached to a member of the State House of Assembly. The same incident was witnessed at PU 007 Imia, Ojila Ward in Ibaji LGA; and PU 002 Open Space, Ede Ward in Idah LGA.
In Okene LGA, most of the observers were not allowed into the polling units by political thugs.
‘Importation’ of Voters - In Yagba East LGA, Ward 9 PU 001 Irunda Isanlu, thugs in company of security agents arrived at the polling unit with some individuals and insisted that the Presiding Officer must allow them to vote even though they were not registered at that polling unit.
Attack on Election officials - In Adavi LGA, Ward Nagazi Farmland, Zariagi PU 25A, thugs attempted to lynch the Presiding Officer when they mistook him for a man who voted for the PDP candidate in the election but he was rescued by the Community Leader. Polling officials were carried away alongside ballot boxers at PUs 002 & 011 Agbeji Ojikpadala, Ojikpadala, Ward Dekina LGA.
Death of Citizens - INEC announced the death of a Presiding Officer, by name David Sunday Samuel, in a boat accident on election day in Ibaji LGA of the State. Also, 2 persons were reportedly shot dead by thugs at PU 006, LGEA Primary School I, Adankolo in Lokoja Ward A.
27 28 COLLATION PROCESS
Collation was disrupted in some areas in the State. Thugs arrived at Dekina LGA Collation centre during collation process in two (2) vehicles and in company of Policemen to take away ballot boxes, claiming they had been instructed to move ballot boxes to Lokoja from the Collation centre. Also, observers reported that some INEC officials and ballot boxes were missing from polling units before collation of results in Olamaboro LGA, particularly PUs 002, 006 and 013 in Olamaboro Ward III and PUs 006, 012, 015, 016 and 022 in Imane Ward I.
Incomplete Result Sheet: In Adavi LGA, LGEA Primary School II PU 029 (Kabba Junction, Zango): a polling official stopped the election, stating that he was informed by someone at the INEC LGA Office in Adavi to sign an empty result sheet, as result figures had been prepared for the polling unit already. The Empty sheet was signed by the Presiding Officer and a Policeman.
29 30 POST-ELECTION OBSERVATION
Vote Tabulation and Declaration of Results
The State Collation Centre opened early and conducted its activities peacefully throughout the results collation and declaration process.
Nonetheless, the collation and announcement of results was controversial. Prominent among the concern observed were:
High Number of Cancelled Votes - INEC announced that about one hundred and fifty thousand votes were cancelled in about 147 PUs without giving full details of the reasons for the cancellation while it rejected about thirteen thousand votes due to violence. In an election that had about six hundred thousand valid votes, such level of cancellation is quite high and should be thoroughly analysed.
Zero votes in 10 PUs in Ward A, Lokoja LGA – INEC also returned zero votes in ten PUs without giving details of the circumstance, despite citizens observed casting votes at the PUs. The affected PUs are:
· Phase II/Workers Village, Near State Secretariat PU003;
· Lokongoma Village Front of Comm. Sec. Sch. PU004;
· Adankolo, LGEA Primary School I PU006;
· Adankolo New Layout, Open Space Near Fehintolu PU007
· Ajagbe Mechanic/Moremi Restaurant Open Space, Near Mechanic PU008;
· LGEA SEC./NEPA, Open Space, LGA Secretariat PU010;
· Crowther Memorial College/Sabon Gari PU012;
31 · LGA Secret./NEPA Open Space, LGA Secret. PU014;
· SPEB, Open Space PU017; and
· Cinema Hall/Angwa Muchi, Open Space, Cinema Hall PU018
Discrepancy in the Final Announced Results by INEC - INEC declared that the APC governorship candidate, Yahaya Bello, polled a total number of 406,222 votes while Musa Wada of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) scored the second highest votes of 189,704. When tabulated based on the results declared by LG Collation Officers, the final results declared by INEC for the APC is 12,682 higher than the actual valid votes.
Reaction of Candidates/Parties
Following the announcement and declaration of results by INEC, some supporters of the APC attacked and killed the PDP Women Leader in Ochadamu Ward, Ofu LGA, Mrs. Salome Abuh. The Women Leader’s residence was reportedly burnt also.
CONCLUSION AND
32 RECOMMENDATION
Conclusion
The just conducted Kogi State Governorship election in November 2019 has further shown, from the 2019 General Elections, that the quality of elections in the country continued to deteriorate speedily. There was no proof that INEC had incorporated, into this election, any lessons from the review of the 2019 General Elections it conducted. New dimensions to election challenges observed previously have emerged in this election -an Helicopter was used to attack innocent and law-abiding citizens at polling unit and within Lokoja metropolis, and an open involvement of political thugs in tampering with the election process with the support of security agents.
Recommendations
In view of the fact that many of the incidents observed in the 2019 off-cycle Governorship elections and General Elections repeated in the November 16th Governorship election in Kogi State, recommendations of the Situation Room from these elections remain relevant. Some of these recommendations are highlighted hereunder:
Legal Framework
INEC should join the civil society community to the push for reforms in the electoral process, working closely with all critical stakeholders. It is imperative that INEC, through its review of the election process and the expressed concerns of Nigerians seriously pursues a concerted alliance and collaboration with stakeholders, including the National Assembly, CSOs, political parties, the executive and the media, to achieve lasting reforms to the Electoral process.
The Executive should commit to passing reforms proposed in the Electoral Act
33 (Amendment) Bill and also champion a credible implementation of the recommendations in the 2008 Electoral Reform Committee Report (Uwais Report).
Noting the absence of robust enforcement of election rules, which incentivises impunity, Nigeria should urgently undertake the process of strengthening the framework for electoral accountability. In this regard, the National Assembly should fast track the process of passing the Electoral Offences Commission Bill. The legal framework for political and campaign finances should be revised to ensure greater transparency, accountability and fairness. In addition, a provision should be made on electronic collation of results, particularly automatic and electronic transmission of election results, in order to mitigate fraud.
In addition, amendments to the Electoral Act should include altering section 68, that gives unquestioning powers to the Returning Officer to declare results for an election even where such Returning Officer may have done so dubiously or as a result of coercion. Criminal infractions committed en route to the declaration of results should also compel the review of results announced from such incident without requiring that remedial action be only possible through litigation at either the election Tribunal level or in the Courts.
In view of the widespread vote buying and ballot box snatching observed in the election, provisions should be made to hold Candidates and their agents, henceforth, to account for such breach of election guidelines and laws.
Election Administration
INEC have to strengthen its process with respect to collation of results, particularly issues with Ward Collation process and declaration of inaccurate results as in the case of the final results of the governorship election. Situation Room recommends that INEC continues to explore, build capacity and advocacy for an electronic collation process.
Despite assurance from INEC on its logistical and readiness, in appropriate election materials were deployed to some PUs in Dekina town. Also, INEC declared “Zero Vote”, meaning valid votes cast at some polling units were not cancelled but made of no consequential effect to the overall results. This practice is strange to the electoral system in Nigeria. Thus, INEC should conduct a thorough investigation of these occurrences and make its findings public.
INEC should take steps to ensure the uniform and firm application of the electoral
34 rules across all stakeholders and institutions during elections. In particular where the system makes enforcement difficult, INEC should continue to call out erring institutions or individuals and take any other relevant step avert future occurrence.
INEC should put in more effort to ensure that all polling units are accessible to persons with disabilities and necessary support materials such as braille and magnifiers provided to assist them exercise their franchise.
INEC needs to take the lead in determining the security requirements for an election and the deployment of security operatives.
Political Parties and Candidates
The level of violence, intimidation, ballot box snatching and vote buying perpetrated by agents of political parties reveal the group’s unwillingness to play by the rule and embrace progress. Party must develop modern-day civil strategies to win elections, like their counterparts in other countries, rather than continue to pushback democratic progress in Nigeria.
All parties must respect each other’s campaign events and materials, and avoid engaging in confrontational rhetoric or behaviour. Party leaders should step up to the responsibility of managing their members and followers to prevent further disruptions of their opponents’ right of assembly.
Election Security
The Nigeria Police should ensure that in future elections all of the personnel that it indicates to deploy for elections are fully mobilized and efficiently and effectively deployed across the areas of election coverage. A polling unit by polling unit details of the deployment of personnel should be shared with election stakeholders, including accredited observers, ahead of the elections.
There should be increased security and protection for election observers and media personnel by security agencies as result of harassment and attacks on observers and media persons by political thugs as well as rogue security officials.
Deliberate vote suppression through intimidation of voters by security agents and political thugs need to be genuinely investigated and perpetrators and their sponsors openly brought to book so as to restore citizens’ confidence in the electoral process.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) should urgently investigate allegations into
35 Police overreach in the Governorship elections. Such officers should be held personally accountable for infringing on the rights of citizens in the exercise of their franchise. In the same vein, Situation Room also calls on the IGP to carry out investigations on all political actors who have instigated or perpetrated violence leading to the needless loss of lives, not with least importance to the killing of Mrs Salome Abuh. The process of prosecution should be transparent and made public in order to discourage practice of thuggery and killing as the country prepares for this year’s Governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) should ensure the Security agency that operated the helicopter which lodged a bullet in the body of a 23-year old girl tender a public apology to the family and reimburse the full financial cost of the victim’s healthcare.
CSOs and other Stakeholders
CSOs, and indeed the Situation Room, should step up work on the electoral reform process to ensure speedy passage of the required amendments to the Election Act.
CSOs should continue to work with other stakeholders to push for improved inclusion of women in the electoral process.
The Media and Civil Society Organisations should work to deepen public enlightenment on the dangers of vote trading on the credibility of elections and prospect of accountability and good governance. The enlightenment should be extended to Security personnel and communities where INEC draws its election workers to ensure practical commitment to curbing vote trading at the polling unit level.
APPENDIX
36 PRESS STATEMENTS
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SITUATION ROOM’S PRELIMINARY STATEMENT ON THE KOGI STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION 2019
Issued in Lokoja at 2.00pm: Friday, 15th November 2019
On Saturday 16th November 2019, residents of Kogi State will come out to vote in the Governorship Election. The Nigeria Civil Situation Room has reconvened in Lokoja to observe the Governorship Election, and has deployed over one hundred election observers across the 21 Local Government Areas.
This Governorship election is the first major election since the 2019 General Elections and against a tense electoral environment. It is our expectation that INEC and other election stakeholders including security agencies will make every effort to improve on the quality and credibility of the General Elections.
Kogi State has a history of electoral violence, as well as a high level of political thuggery when compared to other States of the Federation, and has had numerous cases of inconclusive elections as a result. Presently, Situation Room has received reports of pre-election violence in many parts of the State, prominently Anyigba in Dekina Local Government.
Accordingly, Situation Room hereby outlines its expectations for the Kogi State Governorship Election 2019 as follows:
1. INEC and Election Administration:- Situation Room expects an improved administration and management of the 2019 Kogi State Governorship Election and asks the INEC to take steps to hold election officials to account for any partisan activities or behavior. Situation Room commends INEC for early deployment of sensitive materials and officials ahead of the election-day.
Situation Room also calls on INEC to resist pressure from partisan political interests
37 that could derogate on the conduct of free and fair elections. Situation Room notes the position of INEC regarding the use of the Smart Card Readers in the State election and welcomes the Commission’s insistence that no election will hold without the Card Readers.
Situation Room calls on INEC to limit the abuse in the collation process as happened in the 2019 General Elections by taking steps to carry out an effective and transparent collation of results, open and with unfettered access to designated Centres. INEC should also insist on complete enforcement of the new “Operational Guidelines for Police Officers on Election Duty” to provide adequate security for its officials, party agents and observers rather than become active participants in collation and undermined the process.
2. Security Agencies:- Situation Room will like to commend the Nigeria Police Force for developing an Operational Guidelines for Police Officers on Election Duty. It is hoped that Police officers engaged in the Governorship Elections are already trained on these guidelines, and will be enforced to the latter. Situation Room will watch out for the level of enforcement of these guidelines.
Further, we would like to restate the provisions of S. 29 (3) of the Electoral Act which states that the “deployment of Nigeria Armed forces for elections shall be at the request of INEC and only for the purpose of distribution and delivery of election materials and protection of election officials”. Situation Room calls on the Armed Forces to restrict themselves to these responsibilities as defined by INEC and the electoral law.
Owing to the high stakes in the Governorship election and the increasingly tense political environment, the potential for serious local instability that may further exacerbate Nigeria’s security challenge as a whole, is real. Therefore, Situation Room calls on the security services to demonstrate their commitment to non-partisan support to electoral security, and ensure that it provides adequate security for the elections, in a manner that does not allow or encourage violence to be used as a tool for vote suppression.
We further call on the Police Force to document evidence of violence as well as infractions and their perpetrators in order to speedily bring offenders to book.
3. Political Parties:- Situation Room calls on political parties participating in the Governorship election to take part in the elections devoid of perpetrating violence, vote buying or other electoral malpractices. Situation Room further calls on political parties to restrain their supporters from election violence.
Situation Room also calls on the parties to make sure their party agents are represented at every level of the elections.
Conclusion:- Situation Room calls on all eligible voters to come out freely to exercise their civic responsibility on Saturday, 16th November 2019. Situation Room expects that
38 INEC and indeed all stakeholders in the electoral process would have taken lessons from the challenges of the 2019 General Elections and work towards delivering peaceful and credible Governorship Election in Kogi State.
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SIGNED:
Dudu Manuga and Celestine Odo
For: Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
SITUATION ROOM’S INTERIM STATEMENT ON THE KOGI STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION 2019
Issued in Lokoja, Kogi State at 4:00pm: Saturday, 16th November 2019
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room is continuing to closely observe the ongoing Governorship and Senatorial elections in Kogi State holding today, Saturday 16 November 2019 and at this time will like to state as follows:
Logistics and commencement of poll: Reports from the field show that materials were deployed on time in several of the polling units across the State, with polls commencing at about 8.30am in about 80% of the polling units that we observed in Kogi State. There were however a few reports of delays in delivering of voting materials and consequent delay in voters turnout.
Situation Room commends INEC for their sensitivity towards People Living with Disability (PWDs), the elderly, pregnant and the Nursing mothers. However, there was difficulty in accessing the voting point by the PWDs in Yagba East LGA PU 08 Unit 01.
Situation Room observed that INEC deployed 2015 Election Stamp Pads and Ballot Papers to PU 001-008, Dekina township in Dekina LGA of the State.
Attack on Electoral Observers: There are reports of attack on some observers. For instance, some observers with an International Non-Governmental Organization, Search for Common Ground, were attacked at Ganaja village in Ajaokuta LGA. There was also an attack by thugs in Lokogoma, Lokoja metropolis, during which an observer’s phone was
39 seized. It is observable that there seems to be unrestricted movement of political thugs
in many parts of the state.
Conduct of security officials: At this time, Situation Room notes that there is a good presence of security officials at most of the polling units we observed in State. The conduct of the security officials in many PUs is commendable.
Vote Buying: Situation Room is receiving at this time, incidents of vote buying across the state, with a systematic approach by politicians. These occurred in about 60% of the polling stations where the Situation Room observed in the State. For instance, in Olomaboro LGA Ward Ogugu polling unit 004 and 001, it was visible seeing politicians distributing N6,000 per person and in Ankpa LGA, Ward Abache in LGEA polling unit 002, a person putting on a black T-shirt and a face cap with a candidate emblem, was seen sharing money to voters. In addition, in Adavi LGA, ward Kuroko polling unit 16, the party agent was seen thumb printing for some electorates, and they were given coupons to redeem their cash.
Electoral violence: The large presence of security officials, has not deterred thugs from instigating and perpetrating violence. In Ayetoro 1, PU 004 Ijimu LGA, there was incidents of ballot box snatching, whereby a politician came in with masked thugs who instantly snatched the ballot boxes. Furthermore, In Anyingba Dekina LGA, PU 003, 005,009, 025, 026 etc, ballot boxes were snatched and some outrightly destroyed. In Ofu LGA Ochadamu ward, PU 008, 009, 010, 018 etc, ballot boxes were taken away by thugs. Similarly, in Ijumu LGA in Aiyetoro Ward 1, PU 004, thugs were seen snatching ballot boxes and a voter was shot.
In addition, in Lokoja LGA, ward A, PU 007, there was sporadic shooting behind Adankolo.
There were also shootings at Aiyetoro in Ijimu LGA, Nagazi Farmland ward in Adavi, in Anyigba in Dekina LGA, and in Ochadamu ward in Ofu etc.
Conclusion: - Situation Room is calling on political parties and their representatives to exercise restraint and respect the Non-Violence Pact that they signed earlier this week. As the polls come to an end, and collation processes commence, we call on the INEC and the security personnel to be more vigilant and ensure that the process is transparent and not marred with violence.
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SIGNED:
Dudu Manuga and Celestine Odo
For: Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
40 SECOND INTERIM STATEMENT BY THE NIGERIA CIVIL SOCIETY SITUATION ROOM ON ITS OBSERVATION OF THE KOGI AND BAYELSA STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTIONS
Issued: 3:00pm, Sunday, 17 November 2019
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (Situation Room) is issuing this statement following its observation of the Kogi and Bayelsa States Governorship Elections held on 16 November 2019.
General
The levels of violence witnessed in the two State governorship elections are unprecedented, alarming and raises questions about the credibility of the elections. Nigerians had expected that lessons learnt from the 2019 General elections by stakeholders especially by political parties, the Police and other security services would be taken to improve on the conduct of these elections. Unfortunately, this was not the case and both elections have proved to be a disappointment. The governorship elections conducted in Kogi and Bayelsa States represent a major setback for Nigeria’s electoral democracy.
Commencement of Polls
Situation Room received reports of late commencement of polls in several polling units across the two States of Kogi and Bayelsa. Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) raised concern that the security services attached to support the elections did not provide back up to enable some of its staff start out at the stipulated time and this caused several of the delays. It is noteworthy though that in several of the cases where polls commenced late, INEC Guidelines provided for polling to continue until everyone on queue voted.
Logistics
There are also few reports of polling materials and personnel not arriving on time. INEC again put the responsibility for these failings on the security services who did not report on time or failed to provide security for transportation of election materials to their destinations.
41 Use of Smart Card Readers
The elections saw improved use of the Smart Card Readers. Situation Room observed that Smart Card Readers were widely deployed and utilised in both States. There were however isolated cases of Card Reader malfunctions. In most of the instances, these were rectified in line with INEC guidelines. In other cases, there was a resort to manual accreditation. In Bayelsa, this was observed in Southern Ijaw, Ward 4, PU 12; Ogbia Local Government, Ward 9, PU 8 and Otakeme Ward, PU 1. Also in Kogi State, this was seen in Idah Local government, Ede Ward, PU 002.
Voter Turnout
Situation Room’s impression on Voter turnout in the two governorship elections is that of enthusiasm. Voters were not deterred by pre-election day anxiety, threats of violence and turned out in their numbers. Election day turnout was however marred by violence and activities of political parties and security agents leading to disruption of polls in several areas. The violence made it difficult for voters to observe the usual practice of staying back after voting to observe counting and collation. This is worsened by reports of voters and observers being chased out from the vicinity, and political parties colluding with election officials and dealing with the ballots as they pleased.
Security
Situation Room received many reports of security surrounding the elections including lapses that had far-reaching consequences on the elections. The Nigerian police had stated before the elections that it was deploying 35, 200 police personnel to Kogi State and 31, 041 police personnel to Bayelsa State.
In addition, other security agencies deployed personnel for the elections including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Road Safety Commission, Army, Navy and Air Force. The claimed overwhelming numbers of the deployments by security officials should ordinarily provide enough security for the elections. In spite of these, security gaps and lapses remained manifest throughout the elections in the two States. Security forces failed to provide details of names of its personnel that it deployed for the elections, raising questions about the claims on the numbers deployed.
Situation Room received reports of security personnel standing by and watching incidents of ballot box snatching, violence and abuse of the electoral process. For instance, in Kogi State this was observed in Ajaokuta Local Government, Ganaja Ward; Dekina Local Government, Anyigba Ward: PUs 003, 004, 007, 009, 014 and 025; and Ankpa Local Government, Agodo Ward, PU 006. Whereas in Bayelsa State this was observed in Kolokuma/ Opokuma Local Government, Ward 1, PU 003 and Nembe Local
42 Government, Igbeta-Ewoama Ward, PU 002. In several polling units, police personnel who were unarmed were overwhelmed by political parties, thugs and supporters. These security personnel, as was the case in most instances, did not receive back up support from roving security personnel as planned. There were also reports of armed security personnel shooting, dispersing voters and carting away election materials and even destroying them.
Vote Trading
The commercialisation of Nigeria’s elections appears to have reached unprecedented heights. Political parties and their agents operated openly and with impunity distributing money in purchase of votes and it appeared that they were no efforts to stop them. Sums paid at polling units ranged from N500 to N6,000.
Report on Persons with Disabilities (PWDs)
From various field reports, the following observations were made:
There was low voter turnout of PWDs in both States.
The issue of availability of electoral materials like Braille, magnifying glasses and tactiles hindered participation of PWDs. For instance, in Kogi State, Anyigba Local government, PU 001, 7 persons with albinism were not able to vote because of non-availability of magnifying glasses. This clearly indicates that electoral officers have less knowledge or awareness on INEC Guidelines for PWDs.
Open exploitation of PWDs by politicians who cash-in on the level of poverty of PWDs to buy their votes.
Conclusion
Situation Room is disappointed with the conduct of the two governorship elections that held in Kogi and Bayelsa States and worries that the elections fall below the standards expected for a free, fair and credible elections.
With particular reference to the elections in Kogi State, the levels of violence perpetrated by the two major political parties and politicians, evident sometimes in the collusion with security personnel, seriously undermined the elections, deterred voters and made the exercise a farce. Accordingly, Situation Room is calling for the cancellation of the entirety of the Kogi State elections conducted on 16 November 2019.
The Kogi State election represents a major dent to Nigeria’s democratic process.
The governorship elections in Bayelsa State has also witnesses serious lapses, with high levels of violence perpetrated by political parties again in collusion with
43 security personnel and reports of “community voting”- a practice whereby political parties controlling particular areas compel overwhelming votes in favour of their party.
Situation Room calls on INEC to fully interrogate the elections in Bayelsa State with a view to identifying the high incidences of malpractice that took place and reflect the genuine vote of the people.
In the light of the security failures, violence, thuggery and general abuse witnessed in the elections, Situation Room calls for an urgent passage and implementation of an Electoral Offences Commission law to address all issues related to electoral abuse.
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SIGNED:
Clement Nwankwo
Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
The Situation Room is made up of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working in support of credible and transparent elections in Nigeria and includes such groups as Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), CLEEN Foundation, Action Aid Nigeria, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Proactive Gender Initiative (PGI) Enough is Enough Nigeria, WANGONET, Partners for Electoral Reform, JDPC and YIAGA Africa. Others are Development Dynamics, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN), Stakeholder Democracy Network, Human Rights Monitor, Reclaim Naija, CITAD, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE), CISLAC, and several other CSOs numbering more than seventy.
44 45 PLAC hosts the secretariat of the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and is a member of its steering committee. The Situation Room provides a co-ordinating platform for civil society engagement on governance issues. It is also a platform for information sharing among civil society groups working on elections and topical national issues. It intervenes in the electoral process by promoting collaboration, proactive advocacy and rapid response to crisis in the electoral process. The Situation Room provides a forum of advance planning, scenario building, evidence based analysis, constructive 20 engagement with various stakeholders in the electoral 21 process and observation of elections.
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11 Situation Room Secretariat: 12 c/o Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre10 (PLAC) Plot 451 Gambo Jimeta Crescent off Nasir El-Rufai Crescent via Gilmor Junction, Guzape District, Abuja, Nigeria 9 1 Telephone: 09095050505, 09032999919 web: http://situationroom.placng.org16 Facebook: facebook.com/situationroomnigeria Twitter: @situationroomng
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