A Non-Governmental Organisation, Search for Common Ground is to deploy 21 observers for Kogi governorship election just as they lamented on the rate of political killings in some part of the state as tye election approach.
The Early Warning Coordinator, Mrs Omolola Mamedu who disclosed this in Lokoja on Wednesday during the Monthly Stakeholder’s Conflict Scan Analysis on Electoral Violence in Kogi State, said the 21 observers will be deployed to all the 21 local government councils of the state adding that with one observers per local government.
She pointed out that they have been selected and trained to observe and report to an existing database platform on early warning signs and conflict indicators.
She said these reports cover arears of election related violence, identify potential threats to peaceful election at the pre-andpost-election stages in order to facilitate an early response by stakeholders like the Police force, INEC,NOA with the intention of intervening to prevent violence.
She also noted that search early warning observers have reported cases of violence physical attacks between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
“Series of attacks have recorded during campaign rallies and party activities. Dekina and Ankpa local government councils has recorded the highest number of violence attack among party members and supporters .
” On the 19 of October, 2019, a party supporter was shot dead in Ayingba during one of the political party rallies. The number of death recorded in Ayingba and Ankpa communities is quite alarming. There has been a rise in the use of political thugs to perpetrate violence, as this was recorded in Dekina, Ankpa, Olamoboro, Omala and Idah local government councils.
