Kashim Shetima, vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the plethora of attacks on facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) across the country as “acts of terrorism”.
Shettima spoke in Birnin Kebbi at the palace of Muhammadu Iliyasu-Bashar, emir of Gwandu on Wednesday.
In December, INEC said there had been at least 50 attacks on its facilities across 15 states in the country.
According to the data, Imo had 11 attacks —the highest— on the commission’s offices in the state.
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In 2022, two such attacks also happened in Enugu, and one each in Ebonyi, Ogun, and Osun.
The latest incidents were on January 15 and 16, 2023, when two police officers were killed in two different attacks on INEC offices in Imo and Enugu.
Speaking on the attacks, Shettima called on all Nigerians to condemn the act of vandalism of government property.
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He added that “nobody in this country can force himself in power through threats, intimidation, and blackmail”.
“The incessant attacks on INEC offices and facilities is an act of terrorism, every meaningful Nigerian must condemn it in total,” he said.
“Also, locking downtowns and cities in the Southeast is also a pathway to anarchy and insanity. It should be condemned, likewise, the activities of the proscribed indigenous people of biafra are not in tandem with modern democratic practice.
“Nobody in this country can force himself into power through threats, intimidation, and blackmail. Politics and democracy is a game of numbers, your ability to reach out and build bridges and win the hearts and minds of people is much more important than issuing threats and intimidation.”
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Shettima urged Nigerians to embrace the path of peace to propel socioeconomic development and political stability.
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