Aleke Aleke
Though the use of the military in election security is considered an aberration in a democracy, it has become inevitable in Nigeria due to the notoriety, unexplained violence, and volatility of elections in the country.
Often, politicians recruit thugs who assist them in carrying ballot boxes in a desperate bid to win elections at all costs, unleashing mayhem on opposition political parties and, of course, the innocent electorate.
This act of election brigandage necessitated the involvement of the military, whose primary responsibility is to defend the nation’s territorial integrity against external aggression or internal insurrection, in election security to tame the insatiable appetite of political actors to win elections at all costs.
From the days of Western Nigeria’s political crisis in 1962, which compelled the then-federal government to involve the military in managing the violent political crisis, the use of the military in every election cycle was institutionalized, despite its unacceptability in a democracy.
Recall Operation Wet ẹ, which was a violent protest that took place in Western Nigeria between rival political factions, the Hausa-Fulani natives and some members of the Nigerian National Democratic Party during the First Republic.
Although it began in 1962, it set in motion a chain of events that eventually led to the first military coup in Nigeria on January 15, 1966.
The term “Operation Wet ẹ” was coined from the practice of setting politicians and their properties ablaze with petrol, with many victims of the political violence killed by “necklacing.”
During the early 1960s, violence was on a rapid rise in Nigeria’s political system, leading to the introduction of Operation Wetie, whereby political gangs were used to disrupt elections.
Operation Wet ẹ was significantly utilized in 1962 when Chief Ladoke Akintola and Chief Obafemi Awolowo were embroiled in a protracted battle for supremacy, resulting in a high rate of violence and lawlessness, including vicious physical combat among lawmakers in the Western regional parliament.
Regrettably, these negative political traits, which compelled the government to deploy the military to control the unbridled violence, still persist. However, former President Goodluck Jonathan is leading the voices advocating for the discontinuation of military deployment for election security, to improve the nation’s electoral system.
Speaking at the public presentation of two of books, “Readings on Election Security Management and Selected Readings in Internal Security Management,” authored by former Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, the former President, averred that deployment of military personnel for election duties overstretches the military.
He stated that elections should be primarily managed by the police and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
According to him, in most other countries, the Air Force and Army are used to transport election materials to dangerous areas, and not providing security at polling units as done in the country.
Jonathan said, “Having been the president of this country before, when you talk about internal security, it’s an area that touches my heart. And especially when you talk about election security, again, it’s an area that touches my heart. One gets worried when it comes to Nigerian elections.
“In fact, here we overstretch the Army. In most other countries, the military doesn’t get involved in the day-to-day management of elections.
“Some countries use them to manage strategic systems, such as transporting election materials to dangerous areas. But manning polling booths and staying around polling stations—military personnel are never used for such duties.”
Jonathan cited examples from Botswana and Senegal, where elections are conducted with minimal security interference, allowing the electorate to vote without intimidation.
He noted that in Botswana, police officers manage election security while the military secures government facilities, and in Senegal, polling stations are run by electoral officials with police stationed outside, intervening only when necessary.
He said, ” I just came back from Botswana some months back during the election. It’s a very small country with a small population, so almost all the police officers were used for the election.
What the military does is that those regular duties that the police officers were doing, including securing the police headquarters, the military took over… So the military high command posted military officers to secure government assets and facilities.
“That’s what they do. And you don’t hear stories. Go to a country like Senegal, which is a West African country, their election last year.
“We talk about technology, technology, and still, with the technology, we have problems. And I said that they use the simplest form of voting. There was a table there. They put the ballot box for every candidate. And you, the voter, you go and you just go and pick. Of course, you must pick from all the candidates. They just put a long table. Every candidate has his ballot papers put there.
“You don’t see any police. The electoral management officers, polling agents and so on were just sitting there and watching. The police were outside because they used secondary schools and primary schools as polling stations.
“Then, each of the classrooms has different polling units. So the police stay here. If there is an issue, they will call them in. Otherwise, you don’t see police wherever you go. And that is a standard in so many countries. But here, we fully do the wrong thing.”
Jonathan, however, stated that the political class would adapt once society starts demanding that the right things be done.
He said, “We, Nigerians, celebrate the wrong thing. And I believe one day, the country will get to the level where people will reject bad behaviour. And when we get to the level that we reject bad behaviour, this issue will not happen again.
Also, the immediate past Chairman of Police Service Commission (PSC) Solomon Arase tasked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), to deploy all their endowments, strengthen, networks, and galvanise intellectual potentials towards advancing the cause of democracy and deepening the credibility of the electoral cycle in the country.
Arase also stressed that beyond the critical driving role of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the quality of the legal framework governing the democratic process and the conducts of political actors, the professional output of the Police and the extended policing family within the democratic space remains a fundamental variable in the nation’s democratic journey.
He added that for the nation’s democracy to thrive, the security governance element must be effective.
This, he said requires that the Police and other complementary security agencies must be mentally mobile to act with knowledge of not just the laws of democracy, but to have the critical thinking and intellectual robustness needed to guarantee that that they understand well enough the democratic space they police, the peculiar threats that could stress the process and law enforcement conducts that could call the credibility of the process to question.
“It also entails that they acquire strong and informed operational capacity that will position the institutions to aid other critical actors towards strengthening our democratic culture.
“These publications set out to address these critical issues by critically interrogating the complex dynamics of democratic security governance in Nigeria.
“The objectives are two fold. First is to open-up the intellectual space in relation to the intellectual, legal and professional inputs into the field of democratic policing.
“Second is to equip Police, the wider law enforcement community, the political class and other strategic actors in our democratic space with the requisite knowledge that will not only engender quality election security outcome, but act as a framework to hold law enforcement operatives accountable in the discharge of their electoral security mandate,”Arase said.
He described former President Goodluck Jonathan as a true patriot, genuine democrat, and peace advocate that believes in the Nigerian project.
For rising above passion and personal disappointments that resulted from the loss of the 2015 Presidential elections to concede defeat, Arase said that Jonathan is now widely acknowledged both locally and on the global stage, as a symbol of democratic stability, national security and cohesion.
The former Inspector General of Police, further averred that “Selected Readings in Internal Security Management,” is structured into 26 detailed chapters, offering a panoramic view of internal security complexities in Nigeria, adding that it explores critical areas such as the nexus between peace, security, and national development; community policing as a tool for conflict resolution and trust-building; integrating human rights in line with the Mendez Principles; the interplay between political leadership and security dynamics; strategies for addressing emerging threats like cybercrime and environmental security; and the importance of interagency collaboration, legal reforms, and public-private partnerships in building resilient security frameworks.
He stated that while the books address distinct aspects of governance and security, they share a unified vision.
“This vision includes human-centric security management grounded in human rights-centred approaches; collaboration and coordination among security agencies, communities, and stakeholders; the use of technology and innovative strategies to tackle modern challenges like cybercrime and electoral fraud; and the importance of public trust and accountability as cornerstones for sustainable security and democratic processes.
“This is our own contribution to the advancement of our democratic journey, and I encourage everyone to read the books to gain insight into the critical question of security governance of our democratic space and process, appreciate the complex dynamics, and contribute to the debate on the subject matter from an informed lens,” he concluded.
