Elections: Nigerian soldiers assaulted, intimidated Enugu residents, Enugu assembly claims
On Tuesday, the Enugu House of Assembly urged President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate alleged military excesses, intimidation and harassment during March 18 governorship and state assembly elections.
The motion for the requested investigation was moved at plenary by Chinedu Nwamba (PDP-Nsukka East). He noted that the military’s constitutional role was to defend Nigeria from external aggression, maintain its territorial integrity, and secure its borders from land, sea, or air violation.
He explained that on March 17, Enugu residents woke up to notice heavy deployment of combat-ready, fierce-looking, AK-47-wielding soldiers in all the 17 local government areas.
The lawmaker explained that armoured vehicles and sophisticated armaments were seen across the state as though the military was headed to war. He said there was manhandling and fragrant intimidation of people during the period.
Supporting the motion, speaker of the house, Edward Ubosi, urged Mr Buhari to investigate the roles and excesses of the military in Enugu during the elections.
He charged the president to sanction anybody found wanting to serve as a deterrent to others.
Mr Ubosi alleged massive electoral malpractices and intimidation marred the 2023 governorship and state assembly elections in parts of Enugu.
The speaker also charged the National Assembly to confirm if there was an act from it to deploy fully-armed military personnel to Enugu on March 17.
Five other lawmakers supported the motion.
(NAN)
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