Police, Lagos govt set to fight over destruction of campaign posters in Lagos

Emeka Ibemere

Last week, the meeting between the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA), an establishment of Lagos State government and the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja was supposed to be cordial in every sense of it, especially as it concerns the peace and orderliness of the state during and after the 2015 general election. But it wasn’t to be so.

With the declaration of open campaigns by different political parties to woo voters into voting for their choice parties during the election, the parties went into campaigns with pasting of posters and billboards in all the nooks and crannies of the state. Lagos State said over 100,000 political posters are illegally pasted in the state on a daily basis. But these posters despite the huge monetary expenses used in printing them are being destroyed by LASSA.

 The meeting called by the Lagos Police command, ostensibly to ask LASAA, to play to the rules of the game to avoid violence during the campaign periods later turned out to be a forum for threats and counter threats.

LASSA was alleged to have been removing posters of opposition parties in the state, which they claimed where pasted on the illegal places which run contrary to the law of the state. But the opposition parties saw it as an attempt to deny them their political rights to campaign in Lagos State. Lagos CP vows to arrest Lagos LASAA officials over removal of campaign posters and banners

Speaking in a crowded press Conference at the Lagos State Police Command, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti, vowed to invoke the full wrath of the law against any official of the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency who dared to remove political posters from wherever they are pasted.

Aderanti told journalists in his Ikeja office that the measure became necessary after his office received series of complaints against LASAA by candidates of various political parties about the removal of their campaign billboards and posters purportedly by personnel of the agency.

However, the police boss didn’t disclose if the posters and complainants included members of the ruling party in the state, the All Progressives Congress, or just other political parties.

He maintained that the Independent National Electoral Commission had lifted ban on political campaigns and LASAA should not truncate peace in the state. “The Electoral Act 2010 as amended is clear in section 100(2) where it stated inter alia that: ‘State apparatus, including the media shall not be employed to the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate at any election”, the Lagos CP quipped.

“The command wishes to advice LASAA to desist from any act that will call to question its purpose against any political party. It is in the interest of public peace for the agency to allow candidates of all political parties’ equal space to disseminate their campaign messages towards a successful conduct of the general election.”

Before he spoke with newsmen, Aderanti had a session with area commanders and Divisional Police Officers on the matter.

According to him, the meeting with his lieutenants was to further direct them to be on the lookout and arrest anybody that attempts to remove any billboard or posters of any candidate of the various political parties under whatever guise. He said the Command would not stand by and allow anyone to truncate the forthcoming general elections.

“Let no one, no matter how highly placed, try our resolve to ensure a peaceful and credible electoral process,” Aderanti said.

He said failure to confront the issue straight on now might lead to loss of peace, adding that all parties have the right to solicit for votes and reach out to their supporters through billboards and posters.

He explained that removal of such posters, mean infringement on politicians’ rights. Speaking on negating political violence, the police boss added.

 “We have in place, strategies that negate political violence. What we are doing today is to pre-empt this violence. We have understanding with political parties that they’ll conduct themselves lawfully. Journalists have a lot to do in ensuring a violence-free election,” Aderanti stated.

But in defiant refusal to obey the orders of the Nigerian Police, LASAA’s Managing Director, George Noah calls the Commissioner of police’s bluff, and claimed that it must be a joke for the commissioner to think of arresting government staffs for doing their legal duties and he vowed to continue with its lawful business of removing illegally pasted posters within major roads and highways in Lagos State.

Reacting to the orders and threats of the State Police Command, at a different news conference in Lagos, Noah said the agency had published guidelines for deploying electoral materials in four national dailies in addition to a town hall meeting it convened with all the political parties where the guidelines were presented to them.

 “Let me state clearly that the removal of posters that deface our environment is a statutory obligation of LASAA. The agency is therefore baffled that the Nigerian police responsible for enforcing the laws of this nation is by the statement encouraging and expressly supporting the flagrant disregard and contravention of environmental guidelines issued to all political parties.”

According to him, for the police to attempting to intimidate staff of the agency was wrong adding that election materials that are not properly deployed or that violate the agency’s guidelines would be removed regardless of the threat of arrest by the police.

LASSA boss stated further that he had held a meeting that lasted for about 15minutes with the Commissioner of Police, explaining that in spite of the cordial discussion at the meeting, he was surprised at the tone of the Commissioner’s press conference where he categorically threatened to arrest the agency’s staff.

“Commissioner of Police and I had a very cordial discussion and I tried to explain to him how we operate, but since their statement has been predesigned it did not matter what we discussed,” Noah affirmed.

He urged politicians to be more creative in the way they go about creating awareness, adding that it would be surprising that it in the course of doing their job police would arrest staff. Noah revealed that over 100,000 political posters are illegally pasted in the state on a daily basis, and said that the removal of these materials has been based on fairness and equality among all stakeholders.

It would be recalled that several months of pasting posters in several strategic places in Lagos State by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the Lagos State Government started removing posters pasted in an alleged unauthorized public places across the state. It therefore warned the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kayode Aderanti, against alleged plans to arrest its officials, while discharging this duty.

The state government also declared zero tolerance for the indiscriminate pasting of posters on highways, high streets and major roads, which it said would be removed by the enforcement officials of the state Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA).

Newswatch Times gathered that the police commissioner is perfecting plans to start arresting LASAA workers who attempt to remove billboards or posters of candidates of the various political parties even if such was illegally deployed.

Noah, however, said that the guidelines on the use of election campaign materials for the 2015 general election were issued in line with the agency’s responsibilities as provided under its enabling law, which regulates and controls outdoor signage, advertisements and hoardings in the state.

According to the agency boss, “the agency has not been selective in the way it discharges its statutory responsibilities. Its staff members always remove posters from undesignated spaces irrespective of political and party affiliations. It will not stop carrying out its statutory responsibility of removing election campaign materials indiscriminately placed at unauthorized places in the state. It will be unlawful for the police to arrest any LASSA staff for carrying out their lawful duty,” he said.

He noted that guidelines for deploying electoral materials had been published by the agency in four national dailies in addition to a town hall meeting it convened with all the political parties where the guidelines were presented to them.

Political commentators who spoke to our correspondent on the issue said such actions of the LASSA could trigger violence and crises even before the election and they reminded LASSA, to trade their business with caution in order to fuel the already tension in the land.

Left for Abiodu Joseph, instead of the actions of the LASSA, to cause huge violence, they should allow political posters to where they are pasted rather than using it to cause fracas. According to him, campaign posters are not done every year, it’s something that takes place once in four years and doesn’t see how it could affect the beauty of Lagos State.  

Nwosu Obinna, lecturer said, LASSA should do their work after all there is an existing law against illegal pasting of posters in the state. He cautioned the agency to show maturity and professionalism in discharging their duties. He said it would be evil, if only the posters of opposition parties’ in the state were being removed to protect and give undue advantage to the state party.

 “The law should be exercise irrespective of whose ox is gored. Let it not be a kind of using the ‘state might’ to intimidate the oppositions in the state and if they are flexing the law to every party there is nothing wrong in it”, Peter Nduka, a teacher advised.

 “But let them do it where it will not cause fight between the members of the parties against the other. The nation is facing serious security challenges and we will not want anything that will cause fracas in Lagos. If it’s possible, let them obey the police instruction and maintain peace”.