Fresh security concern over guber polls

Posted by admin Elections 2011, Governors Saturday, April 23rd, 2011

The Federal Government is reviewing internal security ahead of Tuesday’s governorship and state assembly elections following intelligence report about plans by some people to derail the elections.

The announcement of the result of the April 16th presidential election triggered massive violence in some Northern states that claimed many lives and left others injured.

Eleven states, according to security sources, are being targeted by the plotters.
These are: Kwara, Benue and Nasarawa in North Central; Imo and Anambra in South East; Oyo and Ogun in South West; Sokoto, Kano and Kaduna in North West; and Bauchi in North East.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to reschedule the governorship/state assembly elections in Bauchi and Kaduna was partly in view of the security concern.

“The situation we find ourselves is very dicey. The danger is real and the experience of the last presidential election violence is a pointer that these plots should not be handled with the kid glove any more,” a source said.

“These guys are determined and the tools are readily available for them to use, but the President will not tolerate it.”
Going into specifics, the source said: “In Imo State, intelligence reports show that those competing against the sitting governor are not only formidable, there are fears that supporters of the ruling party and the opposition could take the law into their hands at the slightest instigation”.

In the case of Delta State, he said the songs coming from supporters of the main contenders and ex_militants are frightening.

“In Oyo, we are envisaging a recurrence of violence of the past political era going by the manner the politicians are attacking and even swearing at one another. So the security agencies will be extra_vigilant in that state”.

The source said, the plotters were waiting for the elections in Sokoto, Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna, Benue, and Nasarawa to unleash further mayhem irrespective of the direction in which the pendulum swing because their mission is totally different from that of politics.”

Consequent upon the development, the Federal Government, yesterday, suspended the airlifting of soldiers for all international peace keeping operations until after the elections.

Three battalions are waiting to be airlifted to peace keeping operations in Dafur, Sierra-Leone and Liberia.
The decision has already been communicated to the United Nations and the African Union.

Besides, President Goodluck Jonathan has barred all ranks of the armed forces from going on Easter break.

-Vanguardwp_posts