Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA), a civil society organisation (CSO) has called on Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that the Edo state governorship election coming up on 21 September held without any form of violence.
Gatekeepers News reports that the CSO advised voters in Edo to ignore the intimidation tactics by politicians ahead of the election.
Political parties and candidates for the governorship election had on Thursday, signed a peace accord in Benin City, the state capital as part of measures to ensure peaceful poll conduct.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) however did not sign the accord.
Before this, Godwin Obaseki, Governor of Edo state on Wednesday, said PDP may not sign the peace accord for the election.
Obaseki claimed that police operatives, who were expected to enforce the peace accord, were working for APC.
He alleged that police had detained ten PDP members without sufficient evidence or valid cases against them.
Reacting to the claim through a statement released on Saturday, Ezenwa Nwagwu, executive director of PAACA said that the PDP’s refusal to sign the accord is a “partisan tactic” aimed at creating fear and diverting attention from key issues affecting the election.
He said, “The peace accord is not a legally binding document but a persuasive initiative to promote peaceful conduct among political parties.”
“Its absence does not equate to lawlessness or violence.”
“The police and security agencies have a constitutional duty to maintain law and order during the election, regardless of whether a political party signs the peace accord.”
“The electoral process in Nigeria is governed by the Constitution and the Electoral Act, not by moral agreements.”
“The police, working in collaboration with other security agencies, must therefore deploy adequate personnel and resources to prevent violence and ensure that the election proceeds smoothly.”
“Any failure in this regard would not be because of the absence of a peace accord but due to a lack of commitment to fulfilling their lawful obligations.”
Nwagwu urged police, CSOs, and INEC to reassure the public that the election would be peaceful, despite the “political noise surrounding the peace accord”.
He said, “Citizens must remain confident in the electoral system and refuse to be intimidated by political narratives designed to suppress voter turnout.”
The executive director emphasised that the responsibility to ensure a peaceful election lies with the police and other security agencies.
He concluded, “They must be held accountable for their role in maintaining peace and order.”
