The Nation Newspaper

Category: EDO 2016

  • #EdoDecide: Police deploy sniffer dogs, surveillance aircrafts

    #EdoDecide: Police deploy sniffer dogs, surveillance aircrafts

    …Gunboats to man waterways as DIG talks tough

     

    No fewer than seven sniffer dogs have been deployed to Edo State from Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, ahead of Wednesday’s election.

    The sniffer dogs from the K-9 units were brought in from both states to augment the ones in Edo for enhanced security during the polls.

    The police also deployed surveillance helicopters, gunboats manned by armed Mobile Policemen and operatives of the Marine unit across the waterways and crime mapped places.

    This is just as the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of Operations, Habila Joshak said at least five policemen would man each of the 2,627 polling units across the state to prevent invasion by militants, aliens.

    Joshak stated this on Tuesday evening at the Edo State Police Command headquarters in Benin City.

    He said that 2,000 soldiers were deployed to man the outer corridors of the state especially the highways, adding that restriction of movement would take effect from 1am.

    According to the DIG, security agencies were prepared to meet force with force, warning anyone who has no legitimate business with the election to stare clear.

    He allayed fears that students writing the General Certificate Examination (GCE) may miss Wednesday’s papers, disclosing that their examinations would hold as scheduled.

    He said: “There has been enhanced security deployment across board. We have zeroed on each of the polling booth and deployed at least five security personnel per unit. In terms of preparation and observation through the aeriel patrol of Ekpoma, Irrua and Auchi, I observed that deployments have been done and there are intervention forces in each of the local government areas.

    “In each local government, we have at least 10 patrol vans for reinforcement. For the waterways, we have had effective five gunboats and the soldiers brought in four making nine. I know that in Agenebode, we have gunboats. At the boundary between Ondo and Ogelegele waterside in Ovia Northeast, we also have there.

    “We have had to deploy gunboats manned by armed Mobile Policemen with Marine operatives on all the areas crime mapped. The personnel are to ensure that those making use of the waters are intercepted and identified. Their reasons for movement must be known. Those that are fishing identified.

    “Those of them that cannot give good explanation and identity would be brought for further interrogation. You can be sure there is adequate security. We have said that we have outer condoning. It is done by the military.

    “They are contributing about 2,000 soldiers and they are going to man the outer condoning. From 1am on Wednesday, there would be restriction of movement, particularly on the highways. People must identify themselves and subject themselves to some search because the issue of invasion by armed uniformed men that want to come and truncate the election has kept recurring.
    “We are not going to trample on people’s rights. But we would definitely restrain and ensure that those allowed moving, doing so. The security deployment is not heavy and so, citizens are excited that their security is guaranteed. It is not an invasion and we won’t have any negative effect.

    “We planned with INEC. The future of our children cannot be trampled or rescheduled because of election. We have the capacity to manage both the election and the students writing examinations. This is GCE. It is an external examination, not for all the schools. It is also an isolated examination. So, we have looked at all the schools and the places they are. We would let the students go to their centres and write their examinations, while elections are ongoing.

    “We have demonstrated and simulated what would come to play.  We discovered there is nothing negative and we can manage the two. INEC has keyed in and accepted. From all issues placed on the table, voting won’t take place where examinations are holding.

    “We have also directed that students should get to their centres as early as 6am or 7am. We have publicised among security agencies that students be allowed to go to their centres and they should go in group, in a bus that would be identified. There should also be a means of identitifaction to avoid any problem.

    “Never again should we allow election to be inconclusive as a result of security challenges. Never should we allow people using their position as cultists, hooligans, and thugs to ruin elections. This time around, force would be met with force. Those who use force and arms won’t be allowed to go scot free.”

  • Photo: Edo prepares to decide

    Photo: Edo prepares to decide

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  • Poll: Edo residents do last minute shopping

    Poll: Edo residents do last minute shopping

    residents of Edo State were spotted doing last minute shopping ahead of tomorrow’s governorship election.

    As at the time of filing in this report, the state is peaceful and calm.

    Riot policemen are patrolling strategic areas.

  • Edo: PDP chieftain, INEC officer remanded for kidnapping

    Edo: PDP chieftain, INEC officer remanded for kidnapping

    A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Nakowa Suleiman and an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Mr. Effong Akpan, have been remanded at the Auchi prison for allegedly abducting two members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) during the recent conduct of Voters Registration Exercise.

    The court was informed that Alhaji Suleiman and Akpan confiscated the registration machine to the residence of Suleiman where the Corps members, Matthew Omaji and Grace Adah were coerced to register people illegally.

    The three-count charge preferred against the suspects reads, “..that on the 25th of June, 2016, at Ofukpo, in the Fugar Magistrate District did abduct one Mathew Omaji and compelled him against his will to carry out unlawful activities and thereby committed an offence contrary to to section 1 And punishable under section 3 (2) of the Edo state kidnapping prohibition law 2009 as amended in 2013.

    “That you compelled Mathew Omaji to carry out unlawful activities and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1 and punishable under section 3 (2) of the Edo state kidnapping law 2009 as amended in 2013.

    “That you Effong Akpan on or before 25th June, 2016 at Ofukpo in Fugar Magistrate District did aid and abet Alhaji Nakowa to abduct Mathew Omaji and Grace Adah and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 4 (1) of the Edo state kidnapping (prohibition) law 2009 as amended in 2013.”

    The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges and the presiding Magistrate, Abibor Emmanuel, remanded them to Auchi prison pending when a new date will be fixed to hear the their bail application.

  • Edo election a big challenge – IGP

    The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, on Friday said the Edo State governorship election is a big challenge to security agencies being the first major election to be conducted since his appointment.

    The IGP urged police officers and other security agencies not to relax until election results are announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    He spoke in Benin City while addressing security officials to be deployed for election duties.

    Idris vowed to deal with any police officer supporting political parties during the conduct of the election.

    On the Boko haram threat, the IGP directed effective policing of prayer grounds and areas where people assembled to avoid embarrassment from “bad people.”

    He urged all Divisional Police Officers to visit all polling units within their division and not read about them in the newspapers.

    Idris warned security personnel not to collect money for election duties, saying the Federal Government has released money for payment of security officials.

     

  • Edo Guber: NANS caution students against political violence

     

    National Association of Nigeria Students, (NANS) on Friday cautioned students not to allow themselves to be used as political thugs in the rescheduled Governorship election in Edo State.

     

    The newly elected President of the Student body Comrade Haruna Kadiri who spoke with Journalists also urged Edo Students to vote for candidates with a clear cut agenda that will uplift positively the Nigeria youths.

     

    He said gone are the days where students who constitutes majority of youths in the Country are used by politicians to perpetrate electoral violence.

     

    He said “This is a new NANS, we are taking NANS back to the campus. It is no longer an era where students will be used by politicians. Thank God Edo state election is coming and we are advising students to make sure politicians don’t used them to rig the election”

     

    “Students should go to the poll to vote their conscience irrespective of the party and persons rather we are going to look at the manifestos of candidates that have the interest of the youths and that is the person we are going to vote for”.

     

  • APC, PDP clash as INEC fixes Sept 28 for Edo poll

    APC, PDP clash as INEC fixes Sept 28 for Edo poll

    Edo State will elect a new governor on September 28 after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday postponed the election by 18 days.

    On Wednesday, the Directorate of State Services (DSS) and the police advised the agency to shift the poll because of an untoward security situation.

    At a joint news conference, the security agencies said it would be impossible for the election to hold on schedule.

    The INEC, whose top officials, including Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, were already in Benin, the state capital, said it would meet and take a decision based on the advice.

    The initial position of the agency yesterday was to go ahead with the election.

    INEC National Commissioner in charge of voter education and publicity Prince Solomon Soyebi, said the agency was ready and would go ahead.

    “We cannot shift the election on the basis of security report. We have weighed all the parameters and consequences of postponing the election. This Commission will not mortgage its independence for the sustenance of democracy.

    “We have made 99 percent preparation for the elections and we have also weighed the political atmosphere,” Soyebi said.

    But he later made a U-turn to announce a new date after a long deliberation. Reporters were kept for a long time after the agency called a news conference to break the news of the shift.

    Sources said the delay in announcing the new date was to avert a clash with the coronation of the Crown Prince of Benin Kingdom, Ambassador Eheneden Erediauwa, as the Oba. The ceremony is slated for September 26.

    Soyebi said the commission’s earlier insistent on holding the election on Saturday was because there was no official communication from security agencies.

    He said the commission only received official communication from security agencies at about 6pm yesterday, drawing attention to the need to postpone the election in view of threats of terrorist activities in Edo and other states.

    He said: “The communication indicates that deployment of security personnel country wide to secure lives and property would over stretch their capacity to at the same time provide adequate security for the election.

    “The commission notes the request of the security agencies and considering the security implications of proceeding with the election, the safety of eligible voters, electoral officials, including ad hoc staff and other stakeholders, has decided to reschedule the Edo governorship election to Wednesday, 28 September.”

    Governor Adams Oshiomhole welcomed the decision although he would have favoured a week’s postponement. He cautioned against a new date clashing with the Oba’s coronation.

    The governor nevertheless said the All Progressives Congress (APC) would win because he claimed the PDP is not popular in the state.

    Speaking on a television programme, Oshiomhole said  the APC  defeated the PDP in 16 local governments in the last election.

    He said his party was ready for the election and that Edo is not a war zone.

    His added: “We will win the election. The PDP has no credibility in this state.”

    But the PDP declared the shift as illegal and a coup against the people.

    In a statement yesterday by its spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the Makarfi-led PDP said the date should be kept sacrosanct, stressing that there were no tangible reasons to tamper with the election.

    The statement said: “The call for the postponement of the election by top hierarchy of the security agencies predicated on alleged security threat was a less than ingenious attempt to buy time for the APC which is clearly heading for a major electoral catastrophe on Saturday.

    “It is shameful and indeed a major constitutional breach for the security agencies to act in concert with the APC to truncate an election that had been planned for months.

    “Nigerians were not deceived by the obvious concoctions of the security agencies whose performances during elections have been less than average since the advent of the Buhari Administration.

    “Indeed they have become instruments in the hands of the ruling party to harass, intimidate and punish opponents”.

    The PDP called on the President and the National Assembly to conduct a non partisan and holistic review and investigation of the national security apparatus to save the nation’s fledgling democracy.

    “The postponement of the election by INEC is illegal, unconstitutional and a breach of the peoples’ trust in the commission and the security agencies.

    “It is a coup against the people of Edo State in particular and Nigerians in general. Since the APC assumed power, virtually all elections conducted by INEC have either been inconclusive or truncated.

    “Saturday’s election in Edo State must be an exemption. We will not accept anything less than free, fair and transparent election conducted and concluded the same day.

    “INEC must rise to the occasion to restore the confidence of Nigerians in its operations. Edo is a test case. With the way INEC is performing, how are we sure that it would be able to handle the 2019 national elections.

    In another statement by its publicity secretary, Chri Nehikiare, Edo State PDP accused INEC and the state government of orchestrating the shift.

    ‘’For us, the move by INEC to put off the election is shocking and unacceptable.

    ‘’We are taken aback by the rash security advice a day after the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, was present at the final campaign rally of the APC in Benin City, which was concluded without any security hitch.’’

    The party said INEC recently conducted a hitch-free senatorial bye-election in Borno State, a state which had remained a hotbed of terrorism and insurgency, yet the security agencies saw no reason to advise against the conduct of the election.

    ‘’We are therefore convinced that this phantom security advice is orchestrated in connivance with the APC in the face of imminent defeat in the governorship election,’’ the PDP added.

  • Update: Edo election shifted to September 28

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has shifted Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State to Wednesday, September 28.

    Announcing the shift in the election, the National Commissioner, Voter Education and Publicity of INEC, Prince Solomon Soyebi, said the Commission’s earlier decision to insist on the September 10 date was because no official communication was received from security agencies.

    He said INEC received official communication from security agencies at about 6:00pm on Thursday, drawing the Commission’s attention to the importance of postponing the election following threats of terrorists’ activities in Edo and other states.

    He said: “The communication indicates that deployment of security personnel across the country to secure lives and property would over stretch their capacity while at the same time providing adequate security for the election.

    “The Commission notes the request of the security agencies and considering the security implications of proceeding with the election, the safety of eligible voters, electoral officials including ad hoc staff and other stakeholders, has decided to reschedule the Edo Governorship election to Wednesday, September 28.”

  • Postponement of Edo election illegal – PDP

    Postponement of Edo election illegal – PDP

    The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the postponement of Saturday’s governorship election in Edo state as illegal, saying it’s a coup against the people.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier on Thursday announced its decision to hold the election, only for the commission to reverse itself hours later.

    The party, in a statement by its spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said the date should be kept sacrosanct, stressing that there were no tangible reasons to tamper with the election.

    The statement said: “The call for the postponement of the election by the top hierarchy of the security agencies predicated on alleged security threat was a less than ingenious attempt to buy time for the APC which is clearly heading for a major electoral catastrophe on Saturday.

    “It is shameful and indeed a major constitutional breach for the security agencies to act in concert with the APC to truncate an election that had been planned for months.

    “Nigerians were not deceived by the obvious concoctions of the security agencies whose performances during elections have been less than average since the advent of the Buhari administration.

    “Indeed they have become instruments in the hands of the ruling party to harass, intimidate and punish opponents.”

    The PDP called on the President and the National Assembly to conduct a non -partisan and holistic review and investigation of the national security apparatus to save the nation’s fledging democracy.

     

  • Poll must not clash with Oba’s coronation – Oshiomhole

    Poll must not clash with Oba’s coronation – Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has kicked against the postponement of the state governorship election for two weeks or more.

    Oshiomhole said the election could be postponed for one week because of the planned coronation of the Oba of Benin slated for September 26.

    Speaking on a television programme on Thursday, the governor said the Oba’s coronation is a big event in Edo State.

    He said, “We have a big event in Edo on September 26 which is the Oba’s coronation. Before that day, there are other events that must be done. It will not be proper to hold election during that period.

    “Why not postpone the election for one week?”

    On whether the All Progress Congress (APC) was afraid of defeat, Oshiomhole said the APC defeated the PDP in 16 local government areas in the last election held in the state.

    He said his party was ready for the election, adding that Edo is not a war zone.

    He added: “We will win the election. The PDP has no credibility in this state.”