There are indications that the security of corps members has been lax across the country in the build-up to the general elections slated for March 28 and April 11, 2015.
Investigations by Saturday PUNCH have raised concerns over the security of the corps members, many of who have been drafted for the polls to assist the Independent National Electoral Commission. National Youth Service Corps members are university and polytechnic graduates on one-year mandatory service to Nigeria. INEC recently said it would engage the services of 134,000 corps members in the elections.However, the post election violence of the April 2011 Presidential election remains fresh in the minds of Nigerians as at least 10 corps members were killed in the North East. The tragedy occurred in spite of assurances by government of their safety before, during and after the election. INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, during a recent meeting with President Gooodluck Jonathan, had demanded for tight security around corps members’ lodges nationwide during the polls. “We need to visit corpers’ lodges and assess the situation surrounding their houses,” he said. But less about a week to the 2015 elections, there are no signs of security presence at corps members’ lodges across the country, as observed by our correspondents.
When one of our correspondents visited a corps members’ lodge at Ibara area of Abeokuta, Ogun State on Thursday, it had no security presence.
The security post at the entrance to the isolated lodge, flanked by uncompleted structures and bushes, was locked.Visitors went in and out of the lodge unchallenged.Our correspondent who visited Makurdi, Benue State capital, observed that security was yet to be provided for corps members in the state.For example, the corps members’ lodge close to the secretary of the Nigeria Union of Journalists around Ankpa ward, which is also inhabited by staff of NYSC and their families, had no adequate protection.A corps member who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity disclosed that the lodge has no stationed security guard, even at night.She said she’s often frightened and therefore, hardly goes out in the night.A similar situation was noticed at the corps members’ lodges at Kanshio and Adekaa areas of the state.A corps member at the Adekaa lodge in Gboko Local Government Area confirmed to our correspondent that there has been no security protection for them in the build-up to the elections.A visit to the lodge of the Muslim Corpers Association of Nigeria at the Ilofa Road, Government Reservation Area, Ilorin, Kwara State, did not only reveal an unfenced compound that lacks security, but also one with dilapidated buildings unfit for human habitation. Our correspondent learnt that most corps members’ lodges in the state are also not fenced and similarly in states of disrepair.One of our correspondents who visited the Nigerian Christian Corpers’ Fellowship Lodge located at the Anglican Communion Estate at Alagbaka, Ondo State, found no form of security at the complex.Resident corps members were however cautious to speak to visitors, citing the state of insecurity in the country.A corps member at St. Charles Grammar School, Osogbo, Rita Charles, said apart from the security arrangements being provided by the school authorities for those having their one-year service there, there was no policeman or any security man at the lodge. Although there is a perimeter fence round the school and its corps members’ lodge, parts of it have been broken down by students who use them as illegal escape routes from school.In Rivers State, the story is not different; two corps members who spoke with one of our correspondents on the condition of anonymity, said police officers have not been assigned to their lodges.The corps members said their lodges, located at Elechi area of Port Harcourt, the state capital, had no fences or police officers to secure them.
Speaking with our correspondent at the corps members’ lodge located at Word Bank Estate Umuahia in Abia State, Abraham Amadu , a corps member from Kogi State said he had concluded plans to travel to his home state during the polls, as he was bothered by the rising political tension in neighbouring Rivers State.According to him, any electoral crisis in Rivers State would likely spill over to Abia, considering the proximity of the two states to each other.“So I feel safer to go home,” he told one of our correspondents.He also said that most of his friends in the Middle Belt region of the country told him they were under pressure by their people to return home before the commencement of the elections.The Industrial Design graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, recalled his unpleasant experience in Kaduna in 2011, where he was drafted as polling clerk for the elections.He said, “There in Kaduna, thugs would surround you and tell you what to do and if you wasted time in cooperating with them you were gone.''He said he preferred to stay with his people in the village until the elections were over.A few corps members who spoke to our correspondent in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, expressed concerns about their security during the election.Ezechioma Linda, a Batch ‘B’ corps member said, “This is my first time of conducting elections in a strange land; I don’t feel secure. The Federal Government should provide adequate security for corps members''
Another corps member, Elias Steven, Batch B, Election Assistant Supervisor, said security arrangement should not be compromised to boost confidence of the electorate and officials.
He said, “Government should provide adequate personnel at polling booths. Corps members should have relevant information about the places they are going to.“Vital information about the behavioural pattern of the people and escape routes in case of violence should also be provided for corps members participating in the election. “If there is enough presence of security personnel, it would give the corps members some sense of security even in the face of intimidation. The presence of security will also give them confidence.''The Jos South Local Government corps members’ lodge, which houses about 10 corps members, also had no sign of security presence, when one of our correspondents visited. The corps members described their fate as being in their own hands, having come up with a strategy to be careful and not move about aimlessly.One of the corps members, Perpetua Egesimba said, “We have decided that after the election, we will go and stay with our friends to avoid crowding together and so be easy target for mischief makers.''However, a visit to some youth corps members’ lodges in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, showed that some operatives were stationed there.
Some corps members who spoke to our correspondent expressed confidence in the various law enforcement agencies to provide security for corps members and Nigerians during the elections.
Miss Chinenye Okoro, a corps member at St. Mathias Primary School Corpers’ Lodge, Amarata, Yenagoa, described the state as safe for corps members.She also expressed confidence that the state would continue to remain safe, saying, “At present, few security agents are stationed at our lodge, but the area is considerably safe.''Also, Ifechukwu Amarachi, another corps member at the NACC Corpers’ Lodge in Yenagoa, said, “There are police officers stationed at the lodge daily. We have not experienced any violence. We feel safe and believe also that there will be safety during the elections. We do not anticipate any problem for corps members in Bayelsa.''Police talk tough When contacted, the Bayelsa State Police Command said the police in the state would provide adequate security for corps members and other citizens. Spokesperson for the command, Mr. Asinim Butswat, said corps members were part of the ad hoc staff of INEC and that the police would ensure they, as well as INEC staff, election materials and other citizens are protected during the general elections. “Before now, policemen are at all the corpers’ lodges in the state. We have been doing that. But we have only intensified that because of election purposes,” Butswat said. The Ekiti Police Public Relations Officer, Alberto Adeyemi, said the state command had made adequate arrangements for the provision of security of corps members. He said, “We have adequate arrangement of policemen for each polling booth and there is a standby unit for emergency. There is also Special Protection Unit and the Counter Terrorism Unit would be mobilised. The security of all the electorate is assured.''In his reaction, the Public Relations Officer in Rivers State, Mrs Violet Appolo-Ibizugbe, told Saturday PUNCH that some proactive measures had been taken by the NYSC to ensure the safety of corps members during the election. Appolo-Ibizugbe said corps members had been advised to take shelter in Army barracks close to them should violence erupt during the election. She also explained that corps members had been advised to remove NYSC logos on all their lodges so that they would not be easily identified by troublemakers. “We have been proactive to ensure the safety of our corps members. We have told them to run to Army barracks and not churches and mosques. We have discovered that churches and mosques are usually targets when there is violence.“We have also said that NYSC logos should be removed temporarily from the corpers’ lodges while corps members are expected to remove their uniforms and be in mufti immediately after the exercise,” the state NYSC spokesperson added.
Police Public Relations Officer, Plateau State Police Command, DSP Emmanuel Abuh, however, said that not only corps members, but all those participating in the election, including the voters will be adequately protected. He said, “The IG has mandated every policeman to be on full alert and we are poised to do our duty of protecting Nigerians before, during and after the election.''The Police Public Relations Officer, Kwara State Command, Mr. Ajayi Okasanmi said the police had concluded arrangements to provide efficient security to all corps members in the state at their lodges. He stated that police personnel will be stationed at the lodges of the corps members as well as provide motorised patrol around the lodges. According to him, the security measures will become effective few days before the commencement of the March 28 elections. Okasanmi said, “The security provision we are making is full scale. It is all encompassing. We are making provision for all the INEC staff, the ad-hoc staff, the corps members, voters and all residents. “Apart from the corps members that will be on the field, we are also providing a blanket security for their residence. In all the corpers’ lodges in the state, we are going to provide security. Our men are going to be there. There are policemen and other security men that are ready to provide security for everybody. We are going to pay particular attention to the corps’ members.''Police in Ondo have said that patrols will regularly be made to cover lodgings of corps members before, during and after the general elections.
Police Public Relations Officer, Wole Ogodo, told our correspondent that at the moment, police regularly patrol the different Corpers’ Lodges in the state. “We also gave them emergency numbers so that they can make emergency calls when they are in danger,” Ogodo said.He noted that the Police would not only be protecting the corps members during the election, but other staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, election observers and journalists during the polls.
Meanwhile, in a related development, the Abia State Command of the Nigerian Police has enjoined members of the National Youth Service Corps in the state to avoid acts capable of opening them up to attacks by thugs during and after the forthcoming elections. The command urged corps members to abstain from questionable acts during elections and shun deals that could make them targets of electoral violence. Police Public Relations Officer, Geoffrey Ogbonna who gave the charge in an interview with our correspondent in Umuahia said that “inasmuch as the police are stepping up patrol of corpers’ quarters in the state, corps members should avoid involvement in acts which could make them targets of election- related attacks.''He assured of adequate security for all corps members serving in the state “before, during and after the polls” , disclosing that already, directives had been issued that Divisional Police Officers provide adequate security to all corpers’ lodges within their divisions. The police in Delta State have said no special security arrangement was being made for members of the National Youth Service Corps that will participate in the March 28 and April 11 general elections.The Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Celestina Kalu, told Saturday Punch that the corps members will be covered by the general security arrangements that the police will be making for all the polling officials. She said the police will provide escorts and standby personnel to ensure that polling materials, personnel and voters were protected from intruders.
Kalu said, though armed policemen will not be at the polling unit, armed men will be deployed all around so that they can easily be mobilised to areas that would need special attention. The PPRO said the police will also be working with other sister security organisations to provide adequate security on the election days. However, the Police Public Relations Officer, Benue State Police Command, Austin Ezeani, also said corps members are part of the general public and whatever protection that is given to the public should cover them. He added that the command had given the leaders of the corps members in different lodges numbers to call for any emergency. According to him, the command has made adequate arrangements to ensure the protection of both electoral materials and the people that will be working at the polling units. Efforts to speak to the Police Public Relations Officer in Osun State, Mrs. Folasade Odoro, proved abortive. Calls put across to her telephone were disrupted and she did not respond to the text message sent to her phone. Reports by Samuel Awoyinfa, Chukwudi Akasike, Kamorudeen Ogundele, Oluwole Josiah, Simon Utebor, Emmanuel Obe, Femi Makinde, Daniel Gbagbo, Success Nwogu, Stephen Ukandu and Jude Owuamana
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