INEC Frowns At Police Arrest Of Edo REC
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has vehemently condemned the arrest and detention of its Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem, over matters relating to party primaries conducted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the State recently.
National Commissioner of INEC, who is also the Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr. Festus Okoye, who stated the position of the Commission in a statement made on Friday, warned that such unacceptable actions are capable of creating the impression of harassment of INEC officials thus an infringement of the independence of the Commission which he stressed must be avoided.
While acknowledging the clarification by the Police Command in Edo State on why the REC was detained, the Commission said it can confirm that the REC was invited, adding that it also received the statement by the Edo State Police Command clarifying the situation that the REC was only invited to provide insight into some technical issues regarding our processes.
According to Okoye; “For emphasis, our REC in Edo State, Dr Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem, is a conscientious public officer and co-chairman of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) at State level.
“He was the sitting REC when the last Governorship election was conducted in Edo State on 19th September 2020 which was adjudged to be free, fair and credible.
“Any action capable of creating the impression of harassment of our officials or infringement of the independence of the Commission must be avoided, especially at this critical period of our preparations for the 2023 General Election.
“While we welcome the clarification by the Police Command, we wish to point out that any other official of the Commission assigned by the REC could have provided the required insight.
“Alternatively, a visit to our State Office by the Commissioner of Police or his assigned representative could have achieved the same goal as has been the tradition in our collaborative relationship with security agencies,” Okoye stressed.
