Coalition of civil society groups, CSOs, have accused security agents of escalating tension in Anambra State.
This comes barely 24 hours to the Saturday’s gubernatorial election.
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), said that “Drafted security forces are escalating and heightening tensions, panics and fears among Anambra voters by engaging in indiscriminate shootings, mindless brutalities and chanting of offensive ethno-religious slogans,”
The statement signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chinwe Umeche, and Chidimma Eva Udegbunam (for Intersociety), Comrades Aloysius Attah and Vincent Ezekwueme (for Southeast CLO) and Dr. Jerry Chukwuokoro, and Dr. Okezie Kelechi (for SBCHROs) said 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, the named drafted security forces, numbering over 100,000, are engaging in through indiscriminate shootings, mindless brutalization of the civil population and chanting or use of offensive ethno-religious slogans in addition to flooding the State with Lorries of suspected non indigenes and fake voters.
“The latter may not be unconnected with recent threat by Federal Government to “go as far as using prisoners and inmates as voters to ward off the agitators’ 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.
“Apart from several reports of indiscriminate and aimless shootings by soldiers and ‘special’ police squads at densely populated places like frontages of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Nkwo Igbo and Afor Umunze Community Markets at Igbo-Ukwu and Umunze communities and densely populated others like Ekwulobia, Ihiala, Atani, Oba (Old Oba-Nnewi Road axis), Nnewi, Nkpor, Abagana and so on; the shooting incident and chanting of corrupted but now anti secular or ethno-religious violent slogans such as “Allahu Akbar” and “Nyamiri” were brazenly the case in the evening of yesterday, Tuesday, 3rd November 2021.
“The incident occurred at the ever busy Onitsha Niger Bridgehead and Uga Junction located at Fegge, Onitsha. The incident, which took place between 5.30pm and 6.10pm when traders were retiring home from the nearby Bridgehead Market, saw indiscriminate shooting of live bullets by military and police personnel and chanting of offensive ethno-religious slogans (i.e. Allahu Akbar, Nyamiri, etc). The retiring traders and other road users were thrown into panics and fears forcing them to run helter skelter to avoid being hit by live bullets. Some Coalition members also saw it all; and in addition to sighting thousands of suspected non indigenes of the State and fake voters being brought into the State in dozens of hired Luxurious Buses marked in green colors and fully escorted by armed soldiers and police personnel.”
