A group of activists under the aegis of Save Democracy Women have called on the Federal Government to stop using military personnel during elections.
The women made the call in Abuja on Wednesday, March 6, 2019, during a protest to INEC’s Headquarters, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the UN Women office.
According to Vanguard, the spokesperson of the group, May Nbeku alleged that there were cases of voter suppression by security agencies during the presidential election which held on Saturday, February 23, 2019.
“In comparison to the 2015 elections, these acts, alongside the arrest and incarceration of leading opposition figures and state sponsored killing of innocent citizens necessitates this correspondence because our democracy is under threat.
“Facts abound that the elections itself was heralded by acts of violence, arson, harassments, intimidation and vandalism with prevalence on the destruction of electoral materials.
“More sinister and gruesome was the murder of Mrs Ibisaki Amachree, a mother of two young children and a 19-year-old university student, Daniel Usman, who was a first time voter.
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“What rational explanation that the APC led federal government offers law abiding Nigerians in Kwara, Akwa Ibom or Edo states, who came out in their number to perform a civic obligation, considering the illegal use of military force to propagate electoral malpractice and intimidate citizenry,’’ Mbeku added.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Tukur Buratai has set up a committee to look into allegations of misconduct by its troops during the elections.