By Samuel Edu

Continued attacks on offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission may spell doom for the 2023 general elections if not checked by the government, political scientists have warned.

They contended that the various recent attacks on INEC facilities across the nation were politically orchestrated.

Seven attacks on INEC facilities in five states of the federation have been recorded in the last four months.

Those who spoke with The Hope include; Dr Damilola Agbalajobi, Dr Theresa Emordi and Dr Samuel Agunyai all from the Department of Political Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

Dr Agbalajobi said the attacks were political in nature, noting that there were some people trying to make sure the 2023 general elections are thwarted.

“As for me, I believe these attacks were political and there are some elements who are trying to make the election impossible. It will be difficult, if not impossible, for election to take place in those places where INEC offices have been attacked.

“It is either because some of these politicians feel it will be impossible for them to have their way in some of these areas, hence, they feel the best thing they can do is to disrupt the whole thing.

Agbalajobi urged the government to do everything possible in bringing an end to the menace, stressing that failure to do so would amount to great setback for the nation.

“Another solution to this is a reorientation of the people at the grassroots. They should be made to understand the implication of vandalizing these facilities and the effect it will have on their respective Communities. 

“They should be made to understand that the IGR that should be used for the development of their communities will again be diverted to reconstruct the facilities that has been vandalized causing setback to progress in their respective communities.”

In her contribution, Dr Theresa Emordi said there was no end in sight for the attacks before the election, if INEC was not proactive, noting that the several attacks on INEC facilities would affect the 2023 general elections.

“The youths who constitute about 60% of the population recently registered for the election and many of them are yet to collect their PVCs. If nothing is done as these facilities are been set ablaze, the implication is that majority of the Nigeria population will be disenfranchised which will greatly affect the result of the election.

Speaking on what INEC should do in preventing future attacks on its facilities, Emordi urged the commission to prioritize the installation of CCTV cameras in strategic places.

“Going forward, INEC should install CCTV cameras in some distance away from their offices since their offices are the target because if they burn the office, the installed cameras will also be burnt.

“The security of INEC offices should as well be tightened with people who are credible and are non partisan.

“For the PVCs that have been destroyed in the process of the vandalization, INEC should ensure that they are reproduced and distributed as soon as possible. This should not be difficult for INEC to do because I believe they still have the data of all the electorate on their database.

Dr Samuel Agunyai was of the opinion that some politicians do not want the reforms INEC has introduced to the electioneering process to work effectively, following the electoral act that was newly signed.

“The major reason behind all these attacks on INEC facilities is that politicians do not want all the electronic devices newly introduced to work effectively. Beyond this, they feel they can get hold of the undistributed PVCs for their favor but they have forgotten that this has been checked if the reforms will be properly implemented as it was stated.

“The truth is that, politicians do not want the election to go on smoothly, 2023 election might not be smooth because there are so many interests involved. All these attacks are targeted at INEC because of the various reforms they introduced.

“You will discover that in recent election, even though they spent money, they are unable to win the election because people are now getting wiser, they will collect their money and vote for an entirely different party. That pain and reality has now dawned on them such that they now attack INEC offices so that they will not be able to use these gadgets for the election.

“The solution to this is that the government should invest more in the security apparatuses such that they can get intelligence gathering to forestall future attacks,” Agunyai suggested.