The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that it would no longer tolerate any attempt by politicians to hold its officials hostage and force them to declare winners of elections under duress.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu gave the warning at the meeting of Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) ahead of Saturday elections, held at the commission’s headquarters on Thursday in Abuja.
He said that where such abduction occurs, the commission would not issue Certificates of Return.
Yakubu said that the commission was worried over the rate of attacks on its personnel and the loss of lives and election materials recorded during the Feb. 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections
Yakubu expressed the Commission’s appreciation to the security agencies for securing the environment during the national elections.
He noted that in the course of securing the elections, the security agencies, electoral officials and innocent Nigerians suffered needless attacks resulting in casualties including deaths and loss of personal and official properties.
Yakubu disclosed that INEC had also reconfigured its Smart Card Readers for the elections on Saturday, saying the use of the card readers was mandatory and there will be no exemption to their deployment for accreditation of voters.