A lawyer and a former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Babatunde Ogala, has asked the Nigerian government to arrest persons issuing post-election violence threats and prosecute them.

Mr Ogala made the call on Tuesday while giving his opinion on the preparedness of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2015 general elections.

He said that persons issuing such threats should not be allowed to “walk the streets free”.

“Individuals who have issued threats of post-election violence should be arrested and made to face the law for such comments.

“If anybody says; I will instigate violence, no matter the party he belongs to, arrest such persons and prosecute them,” he said.

The lawyer further stressed the need for a conscious effort to be made by all stakeholders in the election to change the orientation of the populace. “A re-orientation of the populace will help guard against post-election violence. If INEC will do what they have to do right, there will not be violence,” he said.

Mr Ogala, however, pointed out that the electoral body had not shown signs that it was ready for the elections.

“From what I have seen and from what INEC has said, it does not seem to be ready for the elections. Not up to 20 per cent of the electorates have the PVC needed for the voting.

“We can only measure them by the steps that ought to have been taken thus far before the election.

“Over 70 per cent of people in Lagos do not have the permanent Voters Card (PVC) and there is complain all over in Lagos,” the former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly said.

He questioned why the INEC had failed to put things in place within the last three years that it had to prepare for the 2015 general elections.

Mr Ogala further dismissed claims that the INEC may have been sabotaged, insisting that a structure should have been put in place to ensure that the electoral body would not be sabotaged.

“Mobilising people for a general elections is something that INEC should have embarked on.

“INEC should be the one educating the people through the media channels, but the parties and individuals have taken up that role.

“The humongous budgets of INEC should be enough to empower them to be effective in handling electoral exercises,” he pointed out.

He suggested that the electorates should be allowed to use the old voters card to vote in next years election since it would not be possible for most electorates to get their PVC.

“There is not much difference between the permanent cards and the old laminated card.

“The possibility of using card readers is not there because if they bring card readers for the elections, they will need to make provision for power.

“Please, let us use our old cards from 2011. Before INEC will insist on using the PVC for voting, they must be ready. INEC is not ready,” he emphasised.

According to him, “if preparations are on course as INEC claims, where are the materials that are needed for the election”.