INEC issues summons to political parties and the police prepare to buy weapons for N13 billion

 

Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, has called a meeting with the heads of

political parties in response to reports of fighting between their followers in various regions.

As the police planned to spend N13bn on the acquisition of firearms and other security hardware ahead of the elections, Yakubu revealed this in Abuja on Tuesday during the training of master trainers on electoral technology.

Less than three weeks have passed since the beginning of the presidential campaigns and the signing of the peace agreement by the political parties and their presidential candidates under the auspices of the National Peace Committee.

The supporters of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress and Peter Obi of the Labour Party have engaged in aggressive and abusive verbal exchanges before to the start of the campaigns on September 28.

A popular video of the Pyrates Confraternity's members singing a song ridiculing a prominent presidential contender sparked outrage and condemnations across the nation.

In response to these incidents, the police issued warnings against using hate speech and cyberbullying and threatened to prosecute those who did. They added that, depending on the nature of the speeches, they could face charges under the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, Electoral Act, or even the Terrorism (Prevention) Act.