On deployment of soldiers during elections

In the next few weeks Nigeria will be going into what is probably the hottest election since the country’s return to civil rule in 1999. Over the years, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has had an easy ride to power without formidable challenge from any quarter. In all of the four general elections in this dispensation, parties that tried to dislodge the PDP had failed in their bids either as a result of feeble structure or lack of the resources to prosecute the project. The emergence of what appears a vibrant opposition, the All Progressives Congress (APC), over a year ago may have changed the colour of the nation’s politics.

One of the major issues ahead of the elections is security. The country has for over five years now been prosecuting a serious war against an Islamist sect, Boko Haram, which has claimed responsibility for thousands of deaths of innocent citizens. The group, which holds sway in three states of the North East – Borno, Yobe and Adamawa – has also carried out some deadly campaign in the nation’s capital territory of Abuja and some other states in the North Central.

Apart from the challenge posed by the sect, Nigeria is also contending with communal and ethno-religious clashes in some states in the North. These have also led to the untimely death of hundreds of citizens. Zamfara, Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau, Benue, Kogi, among other states have witnessed such bloody disturbances and have continued to do so on a regular basis. It is also noteworthy that there have been deaths arising from clashes between Fulani herdsmen and those resisting their invasion on their (indigenes’) farmlands.

Nigeria has an army of unemployed youths who roam the streets. These jobless but able-bodied young men and women are easy preys to many politicians who believe they must win elections by hook or crook. The use of this class of youths as thugs has become widespread in the country, constituting a serious security risk.

In the face of all this, the polity has continued to be over-heated as arguments over the desirability or otherwise of the deployment of soldiers during the forthcoming election take the centre stage in the nation’s political turf. While the ruling party believes that the use of soldiers will be desirable, the opposition believes otherwise, expressing fears that the military could be misused. They are quick to allege that the Federal Government used the military to obtain victory during the Ekiti gubernatorial election last year.

Various legal practitioners have lent their voices to the debate. Although most of them cited some court judgments barring soldiers’ use for civil election, they explained that given the tense political atmosphere in the country, it would amount to invitation of chaos on a very large scale if the military is not used.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja, which affirmed Governor Ayodele Fayose of the PDP as the winner of the June 21, 2014 gubernatorial election in Ekiti State, had described the use of armed forces in the conduct of elections as a violation of Section 217(2)(c) of the Constitution and Section 1 of the Armed Forces Act. The appellate court cited a judgment delivered by Justice R. M. Aikawa of the Federal High Court in Sokoto on January 29, 2015 barring the use of the armed forces in the conduct of elections. It, therefore, ruled against the use of the armed forces in the conduct of future elections in the country as such constituted a violation of both the Constitution and the Electoral Act.

Those who call for the deployment of soldiers give instances with Anambra, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun where the Federal Government moved in the military for the gubernatorial elections and all those elections were devoid of violence. We recall that the APC won in Edo and Osun; APGA won in Anambra; Labour Party won in Ondo, while PDP won in Ekiti State.

Our grouse with the call for the deployment of soldiers is that the political class has not helped matters. If we are preaching peace, we must be seen to be pursuing peace. We are not really comfortable with some utterances from various quarters. The texture of the campaign has been very provoking, intemperate and violence-inviting.

It is our belief that if the government at the centre had wanted violence-free polls, some of the materials that are contained in their campaigns should not have been there. If we want a peaceful society, we must work for it by our actions and inactions.

It is our fear also that the military may misinterpret its invitation into what should be purely civil matters to mean that civilians can no longer organise themselves. They may begin to imagine things. This is why we must tread cautiously.