Tony Akowe, Abuja
House of Representatives members did not agree on Tuesday on whether to order an investigation into the security breaches and violence that characterised the conduct of the last governorship election in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
Although the motion, which came under matters of public importance, eventually sailed through, some members believed it had hidden political motives.
Chief Whip Tahir Monguno seconded the motion to allow the House to take it.
The lawmaker said he seconded it blindly without knowing the real intentions.
The motion, sponsored by Toby Okwchukwu and Solomon Bob, urged the House to constitute a joint committee on Police Affairs, Army, Justice, Electoral Matters and Human Rights to investigate the pre and post-election security breaches during the elections.
It raised concerns about alleged presence of fake police officers and unmitigated violence during the election.
The motion made recommendations for further legislative action.
Okechukwu said the election recorded about a dozen deaths.
Read Also: Kogi: An election and its aftermath
He said there was an alleged claim by top police officers that the police had prior intelligence that the elections would be violent and that fake officers were responsible for the mayhem.
According to him, there were reports by civil society organisations (CSOs) that security officials were complicit in the violence and disruption that characterised the elections.
The lawmaker said Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson reported that soldiers were deployed in Ogbia Local Government Area of the state.
Okechukwu recalled that Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement (YIAGA) and Situation Room had called for cancellation of the elections, following the alleged role of security agents in colluding with thugs to steal ballot boxes or disrupting polling units.
The lawmaker reminded the House that 66,241 police personnel (35,200 to Kogi and 31,041 to Bayelsa states) were deployed for the elections, as confirmed by the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) AbdulMajid Ali in charge of Operations on November 14, 2019.
He expressed concern that despite the massive deployment of security personnel, coupled with the intelligence reports, the elections resulted in the death of Mrs. Salome Abuh in Kogi State.
Many other lawmakers contributed to the motion, which was unanimously passed and referred to relevant committees for investigation.
Also, the United Nation (UN) has condemned the killing of Mrs. Abuh in Kogi State.
Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, condemned the killing while briefing State House correspondents on Tuesday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
The UN chief said she had raised the issue with the President alongside other gender-based violence.
She expressed delight that President Buhari had condemned the killing of the politician and ordered a thorough investigation into the incident.
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