A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Monday Ubani, SAN, has criticised the extended restriction of movement imposed ahead of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, describing the directive as excessive and a sign of political immaturity.

Ubani spoke on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

Reacting to the restriction spanning from Friday night to Saturday evening, the senior lawyer said the directive appears disproportionate, although he acknowledged authorities may have security intelligence unknown to the public.

“Let them take a hard look again at this particular directive. They should take a look at it. I mean, from 8pm tonight till the following day. Honestly, it doesn’t make sense to me. But they may have a reason, I don’t know, because they see more than we. There may be security knowledge that the president has alongside with the minister and they have to — they won’t say that openly,” he said.

Ubani noted that while the directives from different authorities may appear conflicting, citizens typically comply with security agencies as the primary enforcers.

“The police’s own is different, though. I think we obey the police. So when there is conflict, who supersedes? They are the enforcers, so we obey the enforcers,” he said.

Ubani linked the need for sweeping restrictions to what he described as Nigeria’s evolving democratic culture, arguing that elections in more advanced democracies do not disrupt daily economic activity.

“It all speaks of our political maturity. Maybe we are not yet mature. Because if you watch developed economies when they are conducting their own election, people will just go to the office, cast their vote, and go back to work.

“It absolutely shows some level of immaturity for us to shut down the entire economy because we want to elect leaders,” he stated.

The senior lawyer stressed that both political actors and citizens must commit to peaceful conduct, noting that desperation for power often fuels tension during elections.

FCT Minister Nyesom Wike declared Friday a work-free day to enable residents to travel to their communities to vote, a decision approved by President Bola Tinubu.

In a broadcast, the minister announced a movement restriction from 8:00 p.m. on Friday to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, directing security agencies to enforce compliance.

Hours after his directive, the Nigeria Police Force, FCT Command, announced a 12-hour restriction on movement from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Police Public Relations Officer Josephine Adeh said the measure is to ensure security and smooth conduct of the polls, with only essential service providers and accredited election officials exempted.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said preparations for the polls are at an advanced stage, with 1,587,025 PVCs collected across the FCT, representing a 94.4 per cent collection rate out of 1,680,315 registered voters.

Kuje recorded the highest collection rate at 97.2 per cent, followed by Abaji (95.0 per cent), Abuja Municipal Area Council (94.5 per cent), Gwagwalada (94.3 per cent), Bwari (93.5 per cent), and Kwali (93.1 per cent).

INEC said the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will be deployed in all polling units, with results transmitted electronically to its Result Viewing Portal.

The FCT Area Council elections will see voters elect six chairmen and 62 councillors across 68 constituencies.

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