THE ROLE AND PERFORMANCE OF
SECURITY AGENCIES IN THE 2011
ELECTIONS
By
Otive Igbuzor, PhD
Hon. Commissioner, PSC
PURPOSE OF PRESENTATION
1. To underscore the importance of election in a
democracy.
2. To outline the role of the security agencies in
the 2011 elections.
3. To show the importance of monitoring the
conduct of the police during elections.
4. To assess the performance of security
agencies at the 2011 elections
OUTLINE OF PRESENTATIONS
1. Introduction
2. Security Agencies and Elections
3. Conduct of Security Agencies in Previous
Elections
4. Monitoring the conduct of Police during
previous elections
5. Code of Conduct for Police
6. Monitoring the 2011 Elections
7. Performance of Security Agencies
1. INTRODUCTION
• It has been recognised all over the world that
democracy is the best form of government.
• Elections are an important foundation of
democracy.
• Through voting, citizens make choices among
the contesting parties and candidates.
• The law and the processes are supposed to
ensure that the winner reflects the intention
of the voters.
The major purposes of elections are to:
• ensure that voters freely choose those who will
represent them;
• enable voters make choices among the parties,
candidates and programmes and
• ensure that elected officials are accountable to
voters and citizens.
• There are a lot of challenges with the conduct of
elections in Nigeria from the 1922 election to the
2007 election.
2. SECURITY AGENCIES AND
ELECTIONS
• The success or failure of any election depends
on the stakeholders performing their duties
(INEC, Political Parties, Election Observers,
Media and Security Agencies).
• The security agencies can make a difference
in the outcome of elections.
• It is therefore important that security officers
display the highest level of integrity, neutrality,
professionalism and sense of duty.
• The protection of human life, voters, electoral
materials and officials and the preservation of
lawful and orderly electoral processes are
necessary for credible, free and fair elections.
• Without adequate security, there cannot be
credible, free and fair elections.
Role of Security in Elections
• Safeguarding the security of lives and property of citizens during the
electoral process.
• Ensuring the safety of electoral officers before, during and after elections.
• Providing security for candidates during rallies, congresses, conventions,
electioneering campaigns and elections.
• Ensuring and preserving a free, fair, safe and lawful atmosphere for
campaigning by all parties and candidates without discrimination.
• Maintaining peaceful conditions, law and order around the polling and
counting centres.
• Providing security for electoral officials at the voting and counting centres.
• Ensuring the security of election materials at the voting centres and during
transportation.
• Ensuring the security of all electoral material, personnel and citizens
during registration of voters, update, revision and any other electoral
event.
General principles Guiding Policing of
Elections
• The Police should be guided by and conform
to appropriate principles, rules, code of ethics
and laws governing police duties, especially in
relation to crowd control and the use of force
and firearms.
• The security operatives should devise and use
proactive methods to prevent fraud, coercion,
intimidation or other manipulation or violence
• The Police should collect effective intelligence
information throughout the campaign period and day
preceding to voting in order to be able to appreciate
threats to free and fair elections in different places.
• the conduct of the Police on election day should
ensure alertness, approachability, professionalism,
maintenance of Impartiality, fairness, use of force,
communication with superiors and commanders,
awareness of the provisions of Electoral Act, reportingFile report at the end of duty, wearing of identification
tags, co-operation and collaboration-with other
stakeholders.
3. CONDUCT OF SECURITY IN
PREVIOUS ELECTIONS
• Law enforcement and security agents in
Nigeria have been criticized in the past for
aiding and abetting electoral fraud.
• But security agents do not contest elections.
Politicians rig elections with the aid of
security agents and hinge the blame on the
police.
4. MONITORING THE CONDUCT OF
POLICE DURING PREVIOUS ELECTIONS
• The Police Service Commission has monitored the
conduct of police during elections since then. In the
2003 elections, it was documented that more than 90
percent of the observed polling centres had police
coverage but evidence of police impartiality was poor.
• The PSC monitored the Anambra 2010 gubernatorial
election and the 2010 FCT Area Council elections and
the January, 2011 gubernatorial re-run election in Delta
State.
• The Police conducted themselves in a professional
manner.
5. CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE POLICE
• The Police Service Commission in the exercise
of its statutory function of formulating and
implementing policies aimed at efficiency and
discipline within the Nigeria Police Force
produced guidelines for the conduct of police
on electoral duty in Nigeria.
6. PSC MONITORING THE 2011
ELECTIONS
• Every Staff of the commission was involved.
• National Co-ordinator (Chairman supported by
the Perm. Sec)
• Zonal Co-ordinators ( Hon. Commissioners)
• State Co-ordinators (Directors or the most
senior staff in each state)
• 109 Telephone numbers was given to the
public: One telephone per senatorial district.
Election Dates
•
•
•
•
National Assembly: 2nd April, 2011 (Aborted)
National Assembly 9th April, 2011
Presidential Elections: 16th th April, 2011
Gubernatorial/House of Assembly: 26th April,
2011
Every PSC monitor travelled to the place of
monitoring on Thursday or Friday preceding
the election on Saturday.
• The Commission deployed over 300 monitors
who visited over 400 LGAs.
• We received over 1,500 phone calls during the
national assembly elections and over 800
phone calls in both the Presidential and
Gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly
elections.
7. PERFORMANCE OF SECURITY
AGENCIES
• Our own monitoring and several resports
including that from CLEEN foundation and
National Human Rights Commission indicated
that the security agencies performed their
roles creditably with high level of
professionalism and impartiality.
SUCCESSES
• The security agencies displayed impartiality
and neutrality in policing the 2011 elections.
• There was improved Co-ordination with the
establishment of the Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee on Election Security
with the Police leading the operations.
• Improved coverage in terms of deployment of
security agencies.
CHALLENGES
• Most of the security agencies did not budget
for the elections.
• The entire country was not covered especially
in the rural areas because of the size of the
country.
• A few officers were found wanting in the
discharge of their electoral duties.
LESSONS LEARNT
• Leadership is very important in any
organisation. The appointment of Professor
Attahiru Jega and the pronouncement of
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan provided
an enabling environment for the security
agencies to display impartiality and neutrality.
LESSONS LEARNT Contd
• Co-operation and co-ordinating of security
agencies improves efficiency. There is the need to
extend the co-operation to other areas of crime
detection and control.
• Security agencies should budget for election
expenses in 2015.
• Security agencies take a cue from the Political
leadership. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
provided the enabling environment for the
security agencies to be impartial and
professional.
•THANK YOU