Nigeria Content Online

As the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
prepares for the April 10 elections in its six area councils, the
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps yesterday said that it will
deploy 10,000 officers for an effective security coverage of the
election.

The agency’s boss, Ade Abolurin,
stressed the need for ensuring a violence-free election through the
provision of adequate security within and around various polling
centres. He said the deployment was part of his organisation’s
preparation for the coming polls and the protection of INEC officials
and voters.

He said that intelligence officers have
been informed of groups that are planning to cause chaos by hiring
thugs and hoodlums from neighbouring states to unleash terror on their
political opponents and truncate the electoral process.

Mr. Abolurin reiterated that machineries have been put in place to ensure that the political thugs and hoodlums are checkmated.

The official said officers have been
drafted from neighbouring states’ commands to beef up security within
the Federal Capital Territory.

He said that anyone found fomenting
violence would be brought to book under the full weight of the law to
serve as deterrence to others.

‘Do-or-die affair’

A statement by the corps’ public
relation officer, Emmanuel Okeh, advised politicians to embrace the
spirit of sportsmanship and not make the elections a “do-or-die affair”
where violence, arson, kidnapping, hijacking of ballot boxes, rigging
or assassination is the order of the day.

“There should be fair play and
transparency and a display of good conduct by the various party
supporters and the candidates, such that the election will be seen by
all and sundry, especially the internationals observers and other
election monitoring groups, as credible,” the statement read.

“Judging by the current political
climate in the country, the elections would be used as a model to judge
the expectation of Nigerians for the 2011 election. The country cannot
afford to entertain any political disaster at this critical period in
our nation’s history.”