YIAGA: Security officials on election duties need training on human rights

YIAGA Africa, a civil society organisation, says security officials deployed during elections should be trained on human rights.

Cynthia Mbamalu, director of programmes spoke on Tuesday at the “Elections 2023: security, media and safety symposium” organised by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) in Abuja.

Mbamalu decried the harassment of journalists and observers during elections.

She said the inconsistency in communication on election security has been a major issue that drives harassment by security officials during elections.

“For instance, INEC will tell voters they can vote and wait behind to watch the process, but security officials will say vote and go home. Who do you listen to? So there is inconsistency in communication on both angles,” she said.

“There should be an understanding among security officials that on election day, observers will be accredited and deployed. Media practitioners will be accredited and deployed, and they will be more active than observers because they can interview, and take pictures. They should understand that there are different individuals who have simple roles to play in our elections.

Mbamalu said there is a need for the “incorporation of human rights training for security personnel that are deployed”.

She said the country can no longer run a democracy from a military mindset.

“The training for security officials must have a human rights perspective that approaches elections first as a civil process which includes stakeholders who have an equal right to participate,” she said.

“They should be made to understand that in the human rights position, they are to secure and safeguard first. The last thing we want is to start struggling with security officials while we’re still trying to get credible elections. If we’re not careful about how we deploy personnel, security will become a threat to having transparent and credible elections.”

Also speaking during the panel session, Peter Afunanya, spokesman of the Department of State Services ( DSS), said journalists must carry out their duties in manners that promote national unity and avoid partisanship.

He added that it is impossible for a journalist to cover the elections objectively while being partisan.

“Journalists are partners in national development, and partners in the national platform. The journalist as a matter of responsibility must cast their narrative in a manner that constitutes national unity,” he said.

Speaking earlier, Tobi Oluwatola, executive director of CJID, said the event was to commemorate the international day to end impunity for crimes against journalists and also to tackle the issue of how to keep journalists safe during elections.

“The purpose of this event is to have a dialogue between journalists, political parties, and security architecture, about how we can protect journalists in our democracy,” he said.