Security Forces Are Escalating Tensions In Anambra—Civil Societies

<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em>Security forces are escalating tensions<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a> reports that civil societies made up of the leaders of the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law &lpar;Intersociety&rpar;&comma; the Southeast Zone of the Civil Liberties Organization &lpar;Southeast CLO&rpar; and the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;punchng&period;com&sol;">Southeast<&sol;a> Based Coalition of Democracy and Human Rights Organizations &lpar;SBCHROs&rpar; have directly accused security agents deployed on Anambra State for the November 6 governorship election for escalating tensions&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;In a statement jointly signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi&comma; Chinwe Umeche&comma; Esq and Chidimma Eva Udegbunam&comma; Esq &lpar;for Intersociety&rpar;&semi; Comrades Aloysius Attah&comma; Vincent Ezekwueme &lpar;for Southeast CLO&rpar;&semi; Jerry Chukwuokoro&comma; Ph&period;D and Okezie Kelechi&comma; PhD &lpar;for SBCHROs&rpar; and made available to OpenLife&comma; the coalition raised the alarm over the panics and fears unleashed on Anambra voters by the security agents who engage in indiscriminate shootings&comma; mindless brutalities and chanting of offensive ethno-religious slogans&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;They coalition noted that &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;They are deeply worried and saddened that just two days to the Anambra Governorship Election&comma; the Nigerian security forces comprising soldiers of the Nigerian Army and personnel of the Nigeria Police Force&comma; Nigerian Navy&comma; 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&comma; panics and fears among Anambra voting population&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;These security forces&comma; numbering over 100&comma;000&comma; are engaging in through indiscriminate shootings&comma; 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&comma;” the coalition said&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Continuing&comma; the civil societies stressed that the threats by the security agents &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;May not be unconnected with the recent threats by the federal government to &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;go as far as using prisoners and inmates as voters to ward off the agitator&&num;8217&semi;s sit-at-home threat to scuttle the poll&period;”<br &sol;>&NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The crude and hostile attitudes of the drafted security forces towards Anambra residents and voters have strongly painted them &lpar;security forces&rpar; as engaging in special presidential clandestine operations other than election duties&comma;” they stated&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;