Stakeholders Doubt Integrity Of Military Panel

ted to completion of the collation process where results of the elections have been announced.

Okoye regretted that “collation centres were invaded by some soldiers and armed gangs resulting in the intimidation and unlawful arrest of election officials, thereby disrupting the collation process,” adding that the commission will “engage with key stakeholders in Rivers State with a view to ensuring a smooth and peaceful completion of the process.”

The national commissioner, who said results from 17 of the 23 local councils in the state were in its custody, added that the commission at its meeting on Friday, considered the report of the FactFinding Committee set up to assess the situation in the state.

The commission had on March 10 suspended all electoral processes in Rivers State having determined that there was widespread disruption of collation of results of the elections conducted in the state on March 9.

MEANWHILE, mixed reactions have trailed the setting up of a nine-member committee to investigate all allegations of misconduct against its personnel during the last general elections by the Nigerian Army, with many already expressing loss of confidence in it. In his reaction, the Executive Director, We the People, Ken Henshaw described it as a charade because the Nigerian Army has already taken a position by claiming that those who disrupted collation were thugs in military uniform.

Henshaw, who was an observer during the elections in the state said the army decided to set up the committee following the damning indictment slammed on it by INEC for the unprofessional role its personnel played. “Nothing will come out of this because the Nigerian Army has taken a position in this matter already by claiming that thugs in military uniform disrupted the election. So, they mean thugs drove fake tanks, fake armoured personnel carriers and were armed with AK47 all over the state, yet nobody was arrested.”

But a retired director of State Security Service, Dr. Toyin Akanle has expressed serious concern about the composition of the committee saying the army should have considered other segments of the society in the composition of the committee. According to him, the army should have taken into cognizance, the mood in the society and ensure that people have confidence in the committee, and accept the outcome of their reports.

“They military needs to get to the root of this issue, if not, before they know it, the confidence of the people in the military would be completely eroded. This is because for the people to see people in military uniforms snatching ballot boxes and intimidating even INEC officials, it is not the best and I don’t want to believe that they are members of the armed forces, but if they are, it is very unfortunate

“These things happened before the military, so why did they fail to do anything about it? Basically these are offences against the electoral process and if they were so deployed then they have taken part in the offences.” “The army should have even incorporated some of the observers in the committee as constituting the committee with own personnel may not speak well because dogs do not eat dogs. It is not that I don’t have confidence in them, but everybody would be trying to free himself of blame.

“That is why I will suggest that they take from other segments like the Senate, and House Committee on the Military should have been part of the committee. Even the media and the people from the affected communities,” Akanle said.

Security analyst Senator Iruegbu is of the view that setting up a committee is the first step in trying to redeem the image of the military.