A legal practitioner, Human Rights Activist and President of Voters Awareness Initiative, Wale Ogunade says the military and all security agencies are fully on ground to ensure a peaceful and violent free elections.
Mr. Ogunade said on Friday’s edition of ThisMorning with Yori Folarin that security agencies are prepared to deal decisively with anyone caught stirring up trouble during elections.
“If you have no business voting, stay at home; don’t go out with a pin because security personnel are now more equipped with tools to detect anything other than your voter card.
“On election day, you should only bring your voters card and possibly your phone, which you should leave at home before entering the polling booth.
Speaking about what to look out for during the elections, Mr Ogunade stated that we are now in the age of technology, and thus things are very different from previous elections.
We had incidents of ballot box snatching from 2003 to 2009, but that has been eliminated now that we are in a technology-driven era with the introduction of BVAS.
INEC’s electoral processes have evolved over time.
Mr. Ogunade also took advantage of the opportunity to thank international partners, stating that a crisis reading Nigeria cannot be accommodated anywhere in the world.
He appealed to Nigerians to come out en-mass to cast their votes adding that this is the only way to change the situation in Nigeria.
European Union observers have also been deployed to monitor the 2023 election, from INEC preparedness, actions of political parties before and after the elections and media coverage to see the credibility of the process.
The Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali has also warned that anyone who may want to test the resolve of the police at the polls will get a run for their money.
Speaking on behalf of the police IG, the force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said no one will be allowed to undermine the electoral process.
He stressed that several platforms have been set up for people to report cases of vote buying, as it won’t be taken lightly.