Police order to stay off after voting: I-G under fire

•Prof. Jega

•APC, Okogie, SANs to Nigerians: ignore police chief, protect your votes
•Voters have right to stay after voting, says Jega

A DELUGE of criticisms yesterday greeted the warning by Police  Inspector General, Suleiman Abba, to voters to keep off polling stations after  performing their civic responsibility in the coming elections.

Prominent Nigerians, including Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Attahiru Jega, said the  law rather, than  the opinion of the IGP,  should be the decisive factor in the matter.

Jega, speaking  on Channels Television said that the Electoral  Act does not specify anywhere that voters cannot, or should not wait, after casting their votes, to watch ,and ensure that their votes are counted .

INEC, according to him, encourages voters to remain behind, monitor the process and watch their votes counted.

But he declared that voters, who opt to stay behind after voting, should conduct themselves in an orderly manner.

Jega added that allowing voters stay after voting is not even new having done so in the 2011 elections.

He explained that the only people the law does not permit close to or at polling stations during elections are those who do not have business with the electoral process.

Such people should not come within 300 meters of a polling booth.

A voter,he argued ,does have business with the process and therefore cannot be classified with non-voters who ,in the face of the law,have no business with the electoral process and should therefore keep off.

Former Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, said the provisions of the law, and not an individual’s opinion, should be the basis for anyone to stay back to watch the counting of votes after voting.

“If anyone has a good reason to wait around the polling booth, he or she can wait.If not, he or she should depart. What does the law say? That is what we should do,” he said.

Prominent jurist,Professor Itse Sagay (SAN) said the IGP was wrong to issue the keep off warning.

He said:“ There is no legal provision that people should go home after casting their votes. What the Electoral Act says is that people should not loiter around in an aimless manner after voting. Prof. Jega affirmed this when he spoke today (yesterday).

“He said that the electorate who want to witness the counting of the votes are free to do so, so far they stand at a distance and watch the process. There is  no way the electorate are prohibited from doing so. Waiting to see the votes counted enhances the credibility of the election and our democracy.

“ If the IG enforces his pronouncement, he will end up sowing a seed of doubt in the outcome of the election.”

Chief Ladi Williams (SAN) is on the same page with Prof.Sagay on the issue.

His words: “After voting in an election, the electorate have the right to know the outcome. It is not enough to have party agents at the polling booth. The party agents can compromise, so, it is better for the people to see the process to the end.

“When the electorate witness the counting, it would be difficult to do anything untoward.

“The IG has no power to make such statement except there is a  law that permits that. I am not aware of the existence of such law.

“Would he begin to arrest the electorate if they refuse to go home after voting? It is impossible in a democracy. What if the police collect bribe and work against an opposing party? The IG should get the National Assembly to make the law before the pronouncement can be binding.”

Chief Niyi Akintola, another Senior Advocate of Nigeria also faulted the IGP’s warning,saying : “ INEC is the only body given the responsibility to conduct and monitor elections in the country. If the IG’s pronouncement is a directive from INEC, it will be acceptable.

“If it is not, then it is not acceptable. The pronouncement is illegal if it was not a directive from INEC. We have to draw the line here. INEC has the final say and the chairman has clarified this.”

Retired Police Commissioner, Abubakar Tsav said: “The Electoral Act says that the electorate can wait as long as they are not making trouble. If the people do not wait to see their votes counted, what is the assurance that the result will not be manipulated?

“If the process will be transparent, why would you not want the people to be there to witness the counting? It is not the duty of the police to make such statement. Their duty is to maintain law and order. The IG is trying to rewrite the law. He doesn’t have that power because he is not an authority in law.”

Dr. Junaid Mohammed, Second Republic lawmaker, expressed surprise that such a statement was made by the IG, warning that it would be suicidal for Nigerians to accept it.

“I have been in politics for the past 40 years and nobody in any capacity has ever made such statement. The IG’s statement should be ignored. It will be suicidal for Nigerians to do that. The Federal Government is determined to rig the election and that is why they are inventing non-existing law to rig it. Every election that has been rigged in the country is always with the help of the police. The IG is doing a hatchet job after which he will be consigned to the dustbin of history.”

Ayo Opadokun, a political activist said : “Given the prevalence of rigging that has taken place in the recent past , the Nigerian electorate have the fundamental right to see the election to the end ,and ensure that the votes are counted and announced as stipulated by the electoral act.

“No one, that is, no state official has the right to undermine the fundamental rights of Nigerian citizens because he wants to serve a master. That the IG said that they can secure the votes doesn’t mean we should trust them. We do not trust them. They have not given serious minded Nigerians such confidence that they can protect their rights.”

Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo dismissed the IG’s statement as baseless.

“Fortunately, the INEC Chairman clarified this position on television where he said that as long as people organise themselves in an orderly fashion, they should wait to see the result of their vote in that particular polling station. So that is good, there is nothing wrong with people waiting.

“The Electoral Act says that to an extent, people should not be seen loitering around a polling station and has designated a particular distant to keep. But that excludes during voting and during counting.”

Prof. Pat Utomi, an economist, however said that the IGP’ statement was in order.

He said: “It is a good idea, because some people can wait behind after voting to cause problem. At this point in the life of this nation, I will just say that we should put our hope in God because some of these politicians are too desperate and they want to force their wishes on the people.”

The IGP , while addressing accredited observers for the general elections in Abuja on Thursday had said the possibility of committing electoral offence would be high if voters stayed back at the polling booths for votes to be counted.

He said that each polling unit would have at least two or three policemen to protect the votes cast by the electorate.

He said: “Two to three police officers will be attached to each polling unit, and we would provide more officers for the collation centres and for the managers of the elections.

“We will go on to protect the electorate. Every eligible voter should feel safe enough to cast his votes. We will be there to protect the votes and make sure no one disrupts the process.

“Cast your votes and go and cool down. If you remain there, there is a likelihood that you will commit an offence.”

The police chief advised political parties and their candidates to abide by “one agent to a polling unit,” which the electoral act stipulates.

“Asking voters to wait and protect their votes implies taking the law into their own hands. It is unacceptable.”