Steps To Better Security During Presidential Poll

Amidst expectation of larger turn-out of voters in the presidential polls, the police have been called upon to focus on trouble-prone areas and correct the lopsided distribution of personnel noticed last Saturday.

Pockets of violence involving shootings and ballot-box snatching marred the National Assembly elections in parts of the country.

Spokesperson for the Election Security Project, Innocent Chukwuma, said a joint task force of the security agencies and INEC is urgently needed for the South-south and south-eastern parts of the country.

Chukwuma said the worst disturbances occurred in the rural areas of the two zones last Saturday because the police overlooked them in favour of city centres.

He said the zones NOW need more attention and supervision to prevent a repeat of the disruptions, which some opposition parties blamed for their defeat.

For the entire country, Chukwuma said Police personnel should be EVENLY distributed. He concedes that larger voting units might need more than two policemen for better crowd control.

Chukwuma called on the Police authorities to provide adequate logistics especially food and drinks for personnel on election duty. Otherwise they might have excuse to abandon voting centres in search of refreshment.

Chukwuma also charged INEC to ensure timely delivery of voting materials to all polling units since voters usually get agitated when there are delays.

The Election Security Project monitors the conduct of security agents on election duty.

The project is a joint initiative of the National Human Rights Commission and Campaign for Law Enforcement Education in Nigeria Foundation. Chukwuma is the Executive Director of the Foundation.