A team of foreign observers under the aegis of the Pan African Women Project International Observers have raised the alarm over classified information of a planned bomb attack on selected targets in Kano.
The
observers said they received emails from a source they did not make
public, that a mosque and popular market were being targeted for the
attack ahead of Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.
Publicity
Secretary of the group, Ms. Mphoeue Keitseng, who hails from Botswana,
said this at a joint press conference with their local partners in Kano,
late on Tuesday.
The group also noted that from their
interactions with stakeholders across Nigeria, they observed that the
late release of funds to the Independent National Electoral Commission
played a substantial role in events which led to the postponement if
the elections.
Keitseng said, “Following our consultations with
various stakeholders with regard to the recent postponement of Nigeria’s
2019 elections, the following are our observations:
“We have
observed that the Nigerian government did not release funds to INEC on
time, which resulted in supplies not being made for the production of
materials for the elections. For instance, many observer groups up till
now are yet to receive their accreditation tags, jackets and caps.
“Secondly,
the state (Kano) as you see today is generally quiet, but there is
classified information that reached us this evening.
“Please,
note a planned bomb explosion in some sensitive locations in Kano by
political thugs. These include: a general mosque and a popular market.
“We
use this medium to speak to the Nigerian government to beef up security
in all public areas such as mosques, churches and markets.
“Lastly,
from the press briefing held in Abuja, which we attended, many
sensitive materials as at this moment, have arrived INEC offices.
However, we look forward to a successful 2019 elections.”
In
response to a question as to how they came to the conclusion that funds
were not released to INEC on time, she said, “The suppliers told us that
they were only given deposits for the materials last month — January.”
Asked
if the group has shared the security information with relevant Nigerian
security agencies, the Head of the Mission, a Nigerian, Dr. Uben
Udensi, said, “We just came into Kano, we intend to do so.
The
group also urged the Nigerian government and all other stakeholders to
take steps to ensure that Saturday’s polls are free, fair and credible.
Source:- Punchng
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