Female bombers planning to hit polling booths, Omeri warns

Mike Omeri, director-general of the national orientation agency and coordinator of the national information centre, has alerted citizens on the plot of some “unscrupulous” Nigerians to either steal or buy permanent voter cards of female voters for access to female suicide bombers to strike at polling stations.

Omeri, who made this disclosure at press conference in Abuja on Thursday, called on all Nigerians to be vigilant and help security agencies thwart the plans of terrorists.

Speaking about the current military operation in the northeast, he said the successes recorded in the operations so far were the result of a combined effort of Nigerian, Chadian and Cameroonian troops.

“Recall last Monday, we reported a number of successes recorded by the armed forces of Nigeria and its allies in the various fronts where confrontation is taking place between the armies of these countries and terrorists in the north-eastern flank of Nigeria which borders Cameroun, Chad and Niger,” he said.

“The reported success and offensives by armies of the various countries is a result of country-to-country bilateral agreements entered into by the Nigerian government with its neighbours, to enhance coordination in the fight against insurgency in the region.

“Meanwhile, the 7,500 AU-backed multinational force is to be composed of mainly troops from countries in the Lake Chad Basin Commission areas. The modalities for the operationalisation of this force are being worked out at a tactical summit which started today in the republic of Cameroun. In addition, the Chadian chief of defence staff is currently in Nigeria to consolidate discussions on trans-border operations with his Nigerian counterpart.

“Recent intelligence reports indicate that some unscrupulous Nigerians have perfected plans to surreptitiously collect, buy or steal the permanent voter cards (PVCs) of female voters, handover same to female suicide bombers and create access for them into polling centres where they will detonate bombs and kill unsuspecting voters.

“By this information, therefore, Nigerians, especially female voters, are warned to remain vigilant and also jealously guard and preserve their PVCs to avoid the possibility of their being lost to these bad elements who will put them to untoward uses.”