The Osun State Peace and Mediation Working Committee has berated the pockets of violence that were recorded during the 2023 general elections in Osun State.
The Civil Society Organizations led by the Kimpact Development Initiative commended the resilience efforts of patriotic Nigerians, security agencies, youth Corp members for thier Commitment to democratic development as exhibited during the 2023 General elections.
The Committee while addressing the newsmen through a press conference held in Osogbo today, lamented on the incidents of violence that happened in the State before, during and after the elections, adding that the trajectory gives high risk to election.
The statement partly reads: ” This trajectory presents Osun State as one of the states at high risk of electoral violence in southwestern Nigeria. The pre-election environment was characterized by the destruction of political party billboards, harassment of candidates and voters, attacks on political party offices, and frequent incidents of mob violence. All this attests to the fierce political competition”.
“The KDI/EVMM Data Room report shows that there were pockets of violence tracked and documented in the state on the elections days. 11 electoral violence cases were reported and documented during the general election in Osun state-4 cases during the Presidential election & 7 cases during the State House of Assembly, Cumulatively, these incidents of violence impacted over 50 individuals and one (1) death was recorded in the process”.
“The form of violence tracked and documented include Physical harm, attempted murder. politically motivated arrest, Group clash, intimidation of voters, ballot box snatching and destruction. Ila, Atakunmosa East, Atakunmosa West, llesha East, llesha west Ede South, Ife South and Osogbo were LGAs that predominantly experienced this violence”.
“The major perpetrators of this electoral violence are party thugs, and sometimes, security agents are accomplices We condemned this in its entirety. It is saddening to have still records of rising cases of ballot box snatching and carting away of election materials by hoodlums”.
“We are worried it is setting a negative trend for governance and democracy in the country, and we hope we are not back to the inglorious days of ballot box snatching and other undemocratic skirmishes”, the group lamented.
The Organisation also condemned the acts of vote trading that surfaced during the electoral process.
“We condemned vote buying in any form. One would have thought the Naira redesign and scarcity of physical cash would play a major role in curbing vote buying. Yet the political class device means to see that voters were inducement in different forms”.
“Party agents of various political parties orchestrated 73% of this act openly, and security agents were present in most polling units where vote-buying cases occurred. Agents of political parties were seen inducing voters with materials things, and money ranging from A500-N5,000”.
“KDI is concerned with the sense of impunity most political party agents are using to buy votes at PU-the secrecy of the ballot is often jeopardised- which is against the tenet of democratic elections. We fully commend the arrest of some vote traders made towards the elections. We urge that this should not stop at that there should be a prosecution”,.
However, they added that “The State Peace and Mediation Working Committee, at this moment, requests and passionately pleads with all stakeholders, Political parties, youth leaders and security officers to please ensure a peaceful atmosphere and utterances should be to healing and not divisive statements”.
“We call on the government to investigate and hold accountable all those responsible for any acts of violence or electoral malpractice during the 2023 elections. It is crucial that justice is served, and perpetrators are held accountable for their actions”, they concluded.
