POLICE are investigating the erection of posters in Lurgan town centre as a hate incident.
The placards depict a female figure holding a rifle underneath the phrase "Ulster 1912 - 2021?", while below it states: "Deserted. Well - I can stand alone" and "time to decide".
They are believed to have been put up in the town centre over the weekend.
Sinn Féin MLA John O’Dowd had called for police to investigate the posters, which he said appear to be "replicas of a historical poster of the 1912 period when thousand of guns were illegally landed in Ireland by the UVF".
"The addition of the term ‘Time to Decide’ is seen by many as a call to repeat the use of the gun in modern day Irish politics," he said.
"The police need to investigate those responsible for the erection of these posters and their motivation.
"From social media reports the police may have attended the scene while the posters were being erected.
"The posters are a couple of hundred yards from the town’s police station."
PSNI chief inspector Barney O'Connor last night said: "It's believed these were erected over the weekend.
"Enquiries are ongoing into this matter, which was reported as and is being investigated as a hate incident."