10th December, 2010
Though the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, says it has recovered 16 of the stolen Direct Data Capture, DCC, machines stolen from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, politicians, activists and lawyers have lamented the theft, saying it marks the beginning of the rigging of the 2011 general elections.
Some of the machines, imported by INEC for the registration of voters early next year, were stolen at the airport where they were kept by yet to be identified armed men.
Reacting to the theft, several activists and politicians expressed disappointment at the development, saying it marks the beginning of the rigging of the elections.
According to Prof. Itse Sagay, constitutional lawyer, “rigging has started already. The airport officials and the Minister of Aviation are deficient. She (Fidelia Njeze, Minister of Aviation) is a complete disaster and useless. Can you imagine that the conveyor belt at the airport is not even working.
“There is no security at the airport. She must be sacked; the theft of these machines will create serious crisis. Until we trace those machines, people will be registered secretly.â€
Chieftain of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Chekwas Okorie, described the theft of the machines as “dangerous and scaring,†adding that it showed the inefficiency of the security personnel at the airport.
“What this indicate is that those behind the theft might use the machines to rig the coming elections.
“Nigerians must be vigilant and the security agents must not be trusted. Heads should roll. Rigging is possible with the theft of these machines,†he stated.
Afenifere chieftain, Chief Reuben Fasoranti described the theft of the machines as a bad signal and showed the porous security at the nation’s airport.
“It is a bad omen. What do they want to do with the machines? It is a sign of rigging. Government should swing into action. Security officers should look for the machines or be prosecuted,†he stated.
Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, lamented the incident, adding that those who stole the machines would be put to shame as the country would experience free and fair elections next year, regardless of any attempt to frustrate INEC.
“Honestly, it is very sad that what the future of the country depends on, to some extent, has been stolen by the same people whose future we are trying to protect.
“But whether the miscreants among us like it or not, the election will take place and I am very optimistic that we are going to hold a very successful election in 2011 and Nigeria will be better for it and we will move up from there,†he said.
Leader, Save Nigeria Group, SNG, Pastor Tunde Bakare, expressed hope that those who stole the machines would have a rethink and bring them back. “Those who stole from the treasury would never go scot-free, as the masses would have their revenge,†he said.
Former President, Nigeria Bar Association, Rotimi Akeredolu, explained that the stolen machines could be rendered ineffective since they have not been configured.
Publicity Secretary, Action Congress of Nigeria , Lagos State, Mr. Joe Igbokwe said: “If we have plans at all to make the coming elections to be different from the shameful previous ones, we should have been putting structures in place to avert this kind of ugly incident. “It should not have happened at all at this critical time in the nation’s history. It sends a serious signal that things can go wrong if we are not very careful. But the State Security Services can prove the criminals wrong. They must be caught.â€
According to Mr. Yinka Odumakin, National Publicity Secretary, Afenifere Renewal Group, “Nigerians should shine their eyes to ensure that those machines are not used to rig the elections. The people should be alert and avert rigging.â€
Mr. Bamidele Aturu, activist said the theft of the machines portends a dangerous scenario for the forthcoming elections.
“It shows that politicians have made up their mind to mess up INEC and the coming elections but we should not allow them. The direct data capture machines have been captured and we must not allow the votes of the people to be captured. We should vote and remain there until our votes are counted,†he said.
National President, Campaign for Democracy, CD, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, described the theft of the machines as “very ridiculous and unbelievable.â€
“This is a sign that there are designs to rig the forthcoming elections. The Federal Government must bring those in charge of securing the machines but allowed them to be stolen, to book,†she added.
Debo Adeniran, leader, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, also lamented the theft, saying that it exposed the insecurity at the nation’s airports.
“The stolen machines could be used to rig the coming elections. It is a shame on this nation. This could not have happened without the active collaboration of security officers. The security officers should be brought for questioning and sacked,†he stated. In his own reaction, former governor of Ogun State, Aremo Olusegun Osoba said the theft of the DDC machines at the Lagos Airiport “is a clear indication that some people are very desperate to rig the forthcoming general elections.
“They want to commence the rigging through the voter registration exercise. It is clear that some people are desperate to rig the next elections and the way to start rigging is by starting with the registraton of voters. Having stolen the equipment, they want to tamper with the registration so that they can manipulate it to suit their own purpose.
“If the federal government is serious about free and fair elections, they must ensure that they get at the root of this brazen robbery, otherwise the bulk stops at the table of the president. “The implication is that the do or die politics is still very much alive,†said the Akinrogun of Egbaland.
Ogun State East senatorial aspirant, Bisi Adegbuyi, said the theft of the machines tells a lot about the kind of people we are and the nature of security at our various airports.
According to him, “if materials as sensitive as the DDC machines could be stolen at the airport; machines that are supposed to be used for the registration of voters, it simply means that all may not be well with the forthcoming voter registration exercise.
“But, clearly, the people that perpetrated this dastard act know that we don’t punish offenders in Nigeria. The culture of impunity that is reigning supreme in Nigeria is that when people wilfully break the law, they are never punished.
“When people manipulated the electoral process and were compensated with governorship office. They stay in the office for about three and half years, only for them to be kicked out without any corresponding punishment for having violated the electoral integrity. “The law must begin to punish people who break the law. The curse of impunity that is reigning supreme in the country must be stopped completely, otherwise criminals will continue to have a field day,†said Adegbuyi.
Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship aspirant in the last election, Femi Carena, who came in from an overseas trip said the stolen machines will not be useful to those who stole them.
According to Olorunfunmi Bashorun, a chieftain of the ACN in Lagos State, “it is like somebody stealing fere Oba, Ibo lo ti fe fun(It’s like somebody stealing the king’s trumpet, where will such a person blow it). Those people that stole the machines have stolen nothing. The machines they stole have been customised for a purpose.
“What are they going to use it for? Maybe they want to sabotage the exercise. Apart from that, I don’t see anything big in it. They have stolen nothing. They have just wasted their time because the machines have been customised for registration of voters in Nigeria.
“It already has the logo of Nigeria and everything, so 6,000 out of so many thousands should not have any effect. But somebody must be careless and they should find out who is responsible and ensure that such people are brought to book under our laws,†he said.
Ayo Opadokun said the theft of the machines “is not a good omen. It is not a good sign. The electoral management committee and the suppliers should convince Nigeria that the theft of some of the DDC machines was not to sabotage the registration exercise.
“If those machines were stolen and such people conspired to falsify the voters’ register, that means that the much-awated 2011 elections will run into difficulty. So, every effort must be made to prevent further occurrence of such,†he advised.
—Kazeem Ugbodaga, Eromosele Ebhomele, Yisa Jamiu