Peace accord: CSO asks police, INEC to ensure violent-free election in Edo

The Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA), a civil society organisation (CSO), says voters in Edo should ignore the fearmongering tactics by politicians ahead of the governorship election in the state.

On Thursday, political parties and candidates for the governorship election signed a peace accord in Benin City as part of measures to ensure peaceful poll conduct.

However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did not sign the accord.

On Wednesday, Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo, said the ruling party in the state may not sign the peace accord for the election.

The Edo governor alleged that police personnel, who were expected to enforce the peace accord, were working for the APC.

Obaseki claimed that the police had detained 10 PDP members without sufficient evidence or valid cases against them.

Reacting to the development, Ezenwa Nwagwu, executive director of PAACA, said in a statement issued on Saturday that the PDP’s refusal to sign the accord is a “partisan tactic” aimed at creating fear and diverting attention from key issues affecting the election.

“The peace accord is not a legally binding document but a persuasive initiative to promote peaceful conduct among political parties,” the statement reads.

“Its absence does not equate to lawlessness or violence.

“The police and security agencies have a constitutional duty to maintain law and order during the election, regardless of whether a political party signs the peace accord.

“The electoral process in Nigeria is governed by the Constitution and the Electoral Act, not by moral agreements.

“The police, working in collaboration with other security agencies, must therefore deploy adequate personnel and resources to prevent violence and ensure that the election proceeds smoothly.

“Any failure in this regard would not be because of the absence of a peace accord but due to a lack of commitment to fulfilling their lawful obligations.”

Nwagwu asked the police, CSOs, and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reassure the public that the election would be peaceful, despite the “political noise surrounding the peace accord”.

“Citizens must remain confident in the electoral system and refuse to be intimidated by political narratives designed to suppress voter turnout,” he said.

He stressed that the responsibility to ensure a peaceful election lies with the police and other security agencies.

“They must be held accountable for their role in maintaining peace and order,” he added.