At the plenary on Wednesday, the House “condemn(s) all forms of attack on the facilities and buildings of the Federal Government in the country, particularly attacks on the facilities and infrastructure of the Independent National Electoral Commission.”
The House also urged politicians and stakeholders to admonish their supporters to refrain from attacks and violence before or during the 2023 general election.
Also, the lawmakers urged the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Department of State Services, and other security agencies to synergise with the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to “identify, investigate, arrest and prosecute the perpetrators behind the attacks.”
While urging politicians and the police to uphold various peace accords signed across the countries, the lawmakers called on the police to “avoid being partisan in the provision of security for politicians and other stakeholders.”
Furthermore, the House resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to “investigate the remote and immediate cause of the incessant inferno on (sic) INEC offices in different parts of the country and report back within three weeks for further legislative action.”
These resolutions were based on the motion moved by a member of the House, Kunle Olanrewaju, titled, ‘Need to condemn attacks on offices and facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission.’
After the motion was adopted, the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, set up a panel to carry out the task.
Moving the motion, Olarewaju noted the “frequent systemic arson and attacks” on the personnel, offices and facilities of INEC, claiming the “premeditated attacks are targeted at crippling the Commission and scuttling the 2023 general election.”
He also noted that between February 2019 and May 2021, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project reported that at least 41 arsons were carried out on INEC’s facilities in 14 states. He particularly noted that on November 10, 2022, the Commission’s office in the Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State was set ablaze by hoodlums with not less than 65,000 uncollected Permanent Voter Cards razed down by the fire.
According to him, a PVC was estimated to cost about N170,000 in 2019, which may cost more for INEC to produce, alongside the main building, movable assets and facilities such as 904 ballot boxes, 29 voting cubicles, 30 megaphones, 57 election bags, eight electric power generators and 65,699 uncollected PVCs, which were reportedly destroyed by unidentified persons at the Abeokuta South Local Government office.
The lawmaker further noted that on the same day, arsonists and thugs set ablaze the INEC building at Oke Iresi, Ede South Local Government of Osun State.
Olarewaju said, “The House is also worried that if these systematically orchestrated attacks on personnel and facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission are not checked, the actions are capable of disrupting the 2023 general election.
“The House observes that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), guarantees democratic governance as the only acceptable and legitimate means of governance, and democracy is only sustained by free, fair and credible elections, hence, an attack against elections is an attack against democratic governance and perpetrators of such attacks are enemies of the country.
“The House is disturbed that despite the affront to democracy and the Constitution of the Nigerian State, the Nigeria Police and other security agencies have been unable to arrest perpetrators of this heinous crime.”
