Osun: CDD cautions against militarization of governorship election

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has cautioned against militarization of the governorship election in Osun State.
CDD which been monitoring events leading to the Governorship Election on August 9 in Osun made this call in its recently released Briefing Note on recent developments in Osun State. As the election approaches, CDD said there are issues that should be resolved immediately to ensure a level playing ground for all political parties, gubernatorial candidates and citizens of Osun State.
In particular,CDD recalled that President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan while attending the PDP Governorship Rally in Osogbo on Saturday, 2nd August 2014 promised not to condone electoral violence which led to the death of 10 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members shortly after the 2011 general elections. He stated that his government will not allow or condone “a repeat of that incident or allow miscreants to take over Osun State and cause havoc. We will ensure that Osun is properly policed. Anybody who calls himself a thug or militant will be dealt with.” Despite this assurance, CDD expresses concern over the militarization of Osun State under the guise of providing security during the election period.
CDD has however argued that the heavy presence of security operatives in Osun State towards the August 9, 2014 Governorship Election has been heightening tension in the State. The atmosphere was greeted with tension on Wednesday, July 30, 2014 when the operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) paraded the streets of Osogbo, the state capital with over 40 Toyota Hilux vans without number plates and shooting sporadically into the air especially along Olaiya and Oke-fia roundabout which caused panic for the residents of Osogbo.
Idayat Hassan ,director of CDD said the centre “ is worried with the increasing number of security operatives like DSS operatives, Civil Defence personnel and army officers wearing masks at different junctions and inside trucks in and around Osogbo since Saturday August 2 2014. The wearing of masks by security operatives may have negative consequences for the elections in Osun State”
The centre has expressed its belief “ that election is a process and not an event. The essence of security is for the protection of the lives and property of the citizenry and should not be used as an instrument of intimidation. The deployment of heavily armed and hooded security operatives in combat camouflage is uncalled for and can be interpreted as a ploy to give one of the political parties an unfair advantage over others during the election. CDD believes that the Nigerian Police Force can provide effective security during the polls and that the presence of military personnel will likely disenfranchise genuine voters from voting on August 9th 2014.
Thus it called on the President who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to call on security operatives to respect the rights of citizens to vote and be voted for.
CDD also called on political parties to maintain the peace and not engage in acts capable of causing violence in Osun state.
In the same vein, it urged INEC to ensure that there is fair play among all the political parties and gubernatorial candidates during the election, just as the centre urged Osun state citizens toexercise their civic responsibilities and ensure that their votes count by protecting it on Saturday August 92014.