Security forces are escalating tensions
OpenLife Nigeria reports that civil societies made up of the leaders of the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), the Southeast Zone of the Civil Liberties Organization (Southeast CLO) and the Southeast Based Coalition of Democracy and Human Rights Organizations (SBCHROs) have directly accused security agents deployed on Anambra State for the November 6 governorship election for escalating tensions.
In a statement jointly signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chinwe Umeche, Esq and Chidimma Eva Udegbunam, Esq (for Intersociety); Comrades Aloysius Attah, Vincent Ezekwueme (for Southeast CLO); Jerry Chukwuokoro, Ph.D and Okezie Kelechi, PhD (for SBCHROs) and made available to OpenLife, the coalition raised the alarm over the panics and fears unleashed on Anambra voters by the security agents who engage in indiscriminate shootings, mindless brutalities and chanting of offensive ethno-religious slogans.
They coalition noted that “They are deeply worried and saddened that just two days to the Anambra Governorship Election, the Nigerian security forces comprising soldiers of the Nigerian Army and personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps and other armed personnel of the country’s security forces deployed or being deployed in Anambra State ahead of the Nov 6 2021 Governorship Election have brazenly resorted to escalating and heightening of tensions, panics and fears among Anambra voting population.
“These security forces, numbering over 100,000, are engaging in through indiscriminate shootings, mindless brutalization of the civil population and chanting or use of offensive ethnoreligious slogans in addition to flooding the State with Lorries of suspected nonindigenes and fake voters,” the coalition said.
Continuing, the civil societies stressed that the threats by the security agents “May not be unconnected with the recent threats by the federal government to “go as far as using prisoners and inmates as voters to ward off the agitator’s sit-at-home threat to scuttle the poll.”
“The crude and hostile attitudes of the drafted security forces towards Anambra residents and voters have strongly painted them (security forces) as engaging in special presidential clandestine operations other than election duties,” they stated.
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