A Coalition of human rights groups comprising of International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) and South-East based Coalition of Democracy and Human Rights Organizations (SBCDHROs) have warned that removing Imo State Commissioner of Police and leaving other issues that will hinder free, fair and credible election is mere smoke screen.

In several letters addressed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Chief of Army Staff, State Directorate of Security Services as well as the Civil Defence Corps, the group insisted that heads of all security formations in Imo State must be redeployed to ensure a free and free election.

Besides, they asked INEC to some house cleaning given the terrible conduct of general election this year.

They said “unless extreme lawful measures are timely taken, otherwise, Nigerians and other international democracy watchers should expect the return of the incumbent as the winner who polled 500,000-1m votes. Such declaration, if made by INEC, is expressly expected to have emanated from “harvested and written results”.

They insist that winner of Imo Governorship Election cannot poll more than 190,000 to 300,000 votes given what is on the ground.

The statement was jointly signed by the board chair of Intersociety Comrade Emeka Umeagbalasi, Prof Jerry Chidozie Chukwuokolo, Ikenwoke Nwandu for South-East Based Coalition of Democracy and Human Rights Organizations (SBCDHROs) and Comrade Aloysius Emeka Attah, leader, South-East Civil Liberties Organization.

The group said: “From every indication, it is difficult for us at Intersociety and SBCDHROs to be convinced that the Commission is genuinely organizing free, fair, secured and credible Governorship Election for the long suffering and peace loving people of Imo State. Instead, it is easily convincing and may likely to be correct to say that Nigeria’s INEC is planning to ‘harvest and write results’ for the incumbent in the State”.

They said the reason why it is impossible for the true and credible winner of the Nov 11, 2023 Imo Governorship Election to even score 160,000 votes and above; not to talk of garnering 500,000 to one million votes is because apart from over half of Imo State’s 27 Local Government areas being adversely affected by the ongoing mass murders and destructions, estimated 1.8 million of the State’s 2.4 million PVC holders have been uprooted and forced out of their original voting locations and not less than half of the remaining 600,000 PVC holders terrified and forced indoors.

Drawing a comparison with Anambra Election, the groups said: “The November 6, 2021 Anambra Governorship Election is a clear case in point where Prof Charles Soludo of APGA emerged as the winner with 112, 229 votes out of total lawful votes cast of 249, 631; representing 10.12 percent of the State’s registered PVC holders which stood at 2, 466, 638. The acutely poor voters’ turnout during the Anambra State’s November 6, 2021 Governorship Poll was as a result of politically motivated insecurity and other unsafe conditions which are three times lower than that of the present Imo State. The State of Imo also has lower number of registered PVC holders with 2,419, 922 as against Anambra’s 2, 4661, 638 as well as 4,758 polling units and 305 electoral wards as against Anambra’s 5,720 polling units and 326 electoral wards”.

Besides, it continued, INEC has also announced that out of Imo’s 4,758 polling units, “it will not conduct election in 38 polling units. The groups queried the exact names and locations of the 38 polling units which has not been made public.

The groups also want Imo voters to be protected and allowed to freely vote for Governorship Candidates of their choice on November 11, 2023 and their ‘living votes’ and properties protected. (Daily Independent)

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