We’ll use cell-phones to reduce rigging – Supo Ojo

The Chairman of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Mr. Supo Ojo, tells CHUX OHAI why his organisation and three others have come up with a strategy to ensure peaceful, free and fair elections next month

What is the National Elections Incident Centre all about?

It is actually an intervention created by domestic election observers to enhance the observation of the general elections coming up in a matter of days. It is not a novel creation as such. It was used in Kenya and it worked very well. Because we, the domestic election observers in Nigeria, were tired of observing turbulent elections in this country, we asked what we could add to the electoral process without necessarily going beyond our bounds as observers. Then we arrived at the choice of an incident centre. The NEIC is basically an Internet platform created and synergised with the Global System for Mobile Communication. In this case, reports can be sent by GSM (text messages). When a text message is sent, using a code prescribed for that purpose, it will be re-saved by the Internet platform. After seeing the text message, we’ll read it and act on it. It is actually a mechanism that enables on-the-spot reporting of events. Before now, our usual practice was to have a checklist and just record everything that happened at polling stations, where we positioned our observers on paper. At the end of the elections, we would gather the checklists from different parts of the country, assemble them, and begin to analyse them. Usually, it would take between three and four days before we were able to come up with a report. That was the tradition in the past. What we have now is different. This time, reports can be done at the same time as the events or election incidents are happening.

Just what do you mean by election incidents?

By election incidents, we mean those incidents that contradict the purpose of an election. The term accommodates the incidents that threaten elections and may obstruct free and fair elections. Such incidents include violence, illegal stuffing of ballot boxes, snatching of ballot boxes, vote buying, delay in arrival of electoral materials, as well as fraudulent collaborations between INEC officials and party agents or between the latter and other agents. Also, it includes the conduct of INEC officials and party agents or representatives during the elections; the denial of voting rights to eligible voters, as well as the situation where ballot papers are not being distributed or voting is being stalled, and so on. These are the type of incidents that we should be able to report immediately without waiting till the end of the election. For example, if an incident takes place in a polling station, our observer, even a non observer, can send the report to our platform with their cell-phone. When we receive such a report, we will open it immediately and look at it. If it comes from a verified source, say one of our observers whose data is currently in our possession, we act on it. If the gravity of that incident is very high, we may have to contact another observer that is close to the scene of the incident to verify the truth of the report before we make use of it. So, the election incident centre gives us the opportunity to have on-the-spot reports during an election. For instance, if a very serious event is threatening the peaceful conduct of an election and we receive it, we can immediately contact the security and law enforcement agents and draw their attention to it. We have the contact details of all police commissioners, DPOs, area commanders, and Resident Electoral Commissioners and polling officers. Gone are those days when they said they were not informed of unpleasant events or developments during elections. This time, we will keep them promptly informed. As we do this, we shall keep record of the time when we give them such information. But it is possible for the police to make use of our platform as a tool for monitoring what transpires during the elections. All that the police need to do is to get personal laptop computers and log on to our web site. There is a map of Nigeria on our web site; any report that is sent to it appears in the form of a red dot on the particular geographical area where it is coming from. When you open the report, you will see the polling unit, street, the town, the local government area, the state, and the region, where the incident is taking place. So, it is possible to localise the particular incident for the appropriate agency to take an action and nip it in the bud so that it will not have a negative effect on the election.

How do you intend to implement this election monitoring strategy in other parts of the country?

What we have done is to recruit 4,500 observers and to equip them with cell-phone lines. We have deployed them all over the country. We have set up a coordinating working committee, which is headed by a chairman to oversee the domestic election observers for the April general elections. Our group comprises the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress, the Centre for Environment and Human Rights, and the Committee for Defence of Human Rights. The four organisations have members all over the country. We’re actually using our members, we have trained them and we have assigned them to where they will work. Everybody knows what they are expected to do when the elections kick off. But we’re not restricting the use of our platform to our observers alone because Nigeria is such a big country. For over 120,000 polling stations in the country, we have deployed only 4,500 election observers. You can see that this is not adequate. What we’re doing is to encourage every Nigerian to participate in the observation of the forthcoming elections. They can do this by using their cell-phones. All they need to do is to text DEO, which is the short form of Domestic Election Observer and the code that will enable the message to go into our platform. After writing DEO, they should add the name of the street, the number of the polling unit (if they know it), the town, the local government area, the state and then, describe the particular incident they are reporting, and send to 32051. As soon as they text the report to that number, it will land on our platform and will be acknowledged via a return text message to the sender, informing them that the message has been received. The only exception is that when we receive a report from somebody who is not one of our observers, we will have to verify it in order to avoid mistakes.

What is the overall objective of this strategy?

The objective is to enhance a free, fair and credible elections. As I have said before, we’re tired of observing fraudulent elections in Nigeria. We’re tired of observing elections where votes don’t count. We’re tired of the frustration voters are experiencing and which may discourage them from voting. Also, we’re tired of the fact that people are becoming frustrated and disillusioned with the representative government in Nigeria. Each time they vote in elections, there is this forgone conclusion that the winner has already been chosen by the powers that be. We’re tired of that too. Now, the overall objective is to place in the hands of Nigerians a very powerful tool that they can use to protect their own votes and their right to elect those who will govern the, as well as to protect the integrity of the electoral process so that the final results will be reflective of the true wishes and desires of the people.

Considering the current build-up to the forthcoming elections, what are your fears and hopes for the country?

Contrary to what obtained in the past, I think the environment is a bit certain. The rules are well known to everybody, so that when they are being violated almost everyone becomes aware of it. Look at what is happening within the political parties, for example. There were gross violations of electoral rules, which led to so many cases being filed in court. It is the result of failure on the part of the political parties to obey the law that gave rise to the series of litigation. The coast is becoming clear each day. Now, with all that has been done to improve it, the people seem to have more confidence in the electoral process. Maybe the change in the leadership of INEC has contributed to inject more confidence in the electoral process and in the commission. This is why most Nigerians are hopeful and they are looking forward to free and fair, as well as smooth and peaceful elections in which their votes will count and such that, in the end, the results will reflect their true wishes. Also, you can see the candidates of the various political parties rising to the occasion. The courts are putting up the necessary structures that will enable them to resolve post-election disputes successfully. The security agencies are not to be left behind; they are making efforts to ensure that there will be tight security during the elections. Notwithstanding, there are some challenges that may create some problems for the electoral process. One of them is inadequate provision of security personnel to keep the peace at polling stations. The Inspector-General of Police has said that an average of two policemen will be deployed to man each polling station in the country. That is not enough. People who foment trouble or engage in violence during elections are localised and they usually move in groups. Two policemen will not be enough to deal with the activities of such people. Also, we are concerned about the rising spate of violence all over the country and cases of fraudulent practices on the part of political parties. I feel this is a threat to the peaceful conduct of the elections. Corruption is another threat to the April elections. We have received unconfirmed reports that fraudulent politicians have begun to entice polling officers in some LGs with large sums of money in order to compromise them. This, no doubt, portends great danger to the credibility of the electoral process.