Oh, not again, an exclamation of anger and exasperation about something bad that has happened for a second time, were the words on the lips of furious citizens while fuming over yesterday’s governorship and state assembly elections in Nigeria which were largely marred by thugs, low voter turnout, killings and vote-buying.LEADERSHIP gathered that the second set of the 2023 general elections of the country in Sub-Saharan Africa was characterised by violence, voter intimidation unleashed by thugs, leading to low turnout of the electorate.In Benue State, North Central Nigeria, the governorship and state House of Assembly elections were marred by violence in some areas, with no fewer than six persons killed, while many others were injured.It was gathered that security personnel shot dead six persons in Gboko local government area of the state for allegedly snatching ballot boxes.The six persons who fell to the bullets of the security forces at different locations had stormed the polling units to snatch the ballot boxes for politicians who were desperate to win the elections.Some men who allegedly dressed in army uniform also beat up the member of the House of Representatives representing Buruku Federal Constituency, Kpam Jimin Sokpo.In a telephone chat with our correspondent, Sokpo said the men dressed in army uniform came to the hotel where he was relaxing in three trucks, pulled him out and started beating him without provocation, resultin in a deep cut and other wounds on his head.Also in some parts of Agatu and Ukum local government areas there were reports about disruption of the electoral process which was later put under control by security operatives with the help of some youths in the community.The scenario was the same in Lagos State where the Arise Television crew was attacked while covering the governorship and state assembly elections in the Elegushi Palace area of Lagos State.A broadcast journalist with the television station, Oseni Rufai, stated via his verified Twitter handle yesterday that the cameras and drone used for coverage were seized and a correspondent brutalised.“Arise crew attacked in Elegushi. People issue threats and no one is arrested but the Arise TV crew was attacked and arrested in Ikate,” he tweeted.“The cameraman suffered facial injuries while drones and equipment have been seized,” Arise TV also stated in news published on its website.In Delta, there was palpable tension in Evwerni, Ughelli North local government area of the state, as suspected thugs were said to have destroyed electoral materials.Evwerni is the country home of the founding leader of APC in Delta State, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor.Voting was disrupted in all the polling units in Evwerni, just as some of the corps members and other electoral officials who were attacked by the thugs sustained injuries, while about three Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines were smashed.A team of journalists monitoring the elections were prevented from entering the community by the rampaging thugs, even as security personnel sent to the community are helplessThe confusion, it was learnt, may not be unconnected with the fact that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Sheriff Onorovweri, and Kennet Gbagi, governorship candidates of the APC, PDP and SDP are from the area.A resident of the area told our correspondent that the thugs, who allegedly supervised the disruption of the electoral process, are loyal to a serving state commissioner (names withheld).“Some PDP leaders had allegedly boasted that they will not allow voting to take place, and that the election must be cancelled in the APC strongholds,” the source who did not want his name in print said.Similarly, the house of former chairman of Ethiope West local government area and APC chieftain, Dr Wilson Omene, was set ablaze in Mosogar.Four persons were said to have been gunned down by thugs.A former commissioner for Environment, John Nani, a PDP chieftain who lost the Senate primary for Delta Central senatorial district was arrested over arson and killings.Nani had yesterday raised the alarm that his life was in danger, telling the whole world to hold former governor of the state, Chief James Ibori, responsible for whatever happens to him.According to him, the thugs came at midnight, started shooting sporadically.“There were many boys. Not armed initially, we came out to confront them but they were shouting Omene must die. After many calls, the leader of the police team said he had been redeployed. We now called our boys,” Omene confirmed.In Abia, there were reports of shooting at INEC collation centre in Okpualangwa in Isiala Ngwa local government area of the state.Efforts by this paper to speak with the state police public relations officer about the report proved abortive.In Ebonyi, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Prof Bernard Odoh, and the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Onyeka Ugochi confirmed violence in some polling units across the state during the governorship and state assembly elections in the state.Odoh in an interview with journalists in Abakaliki called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to re-conduct elections in wards where the process was disrupted by thugs In Ezza North local government area of the state.He alleged that a massive number of armed thugs were on rampage in Umuezekoha ward where election materials were carted away and burnt.He alleged that some of the thugs wore fake army and police uniforms and shot three voters in Omege ward, noting that the aim was to suppress votes in the area.Odoh said security agents deployed to the area were doing their best but they were not enough to contain the number of thugs all over the place.He described the turnout of voters in the state as generally low, adding that he was envisaging low margin of winning.Similarly an eyewitness who spoke with LEADERSHIP SUNDAY confirmed the disruption of voting in some polling units in Ezza North local government area of the state.The eyewitness said that thugs invaded Umuezekoha, Ekka, Omege and Oshegbe communities where they shot some voters and burnt Election materials.Confirming the development, the resident electoral commissioner in the state, Mrs Onyeka Ugochi, said INEC was aware of the situation and would react accordingly.Also in Isuachara Town Hall polling unit 025, it took the quick intervention of security men to ensure that the voting process was not disrupted.In an interview, one of the voters in the area, Ogbonnaya Chukwu, described the incident as minor, noting that the process was generally peaceful.Chukwu said some political thugs invaded the polling unit and attempted to disrupt the electoral process in the area.He commended the effort of the security agencies in curbing the activities of hoodlums.In Cross River, one person was said to have been shot dead in Ogoja by an unknown soldier after the deceased and the military personnel on duty engaged each other in altercation at the polling unit.There were no details about the cause of the altercation between the soldier on duty and the deceased known as Joe at the polling unit.An eye witness, Benjamin (surname withheld) told LEADERSHIP Sunday that the deceased, Joe, was a commercial motorcyclist, who resided in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, but travelled to Ogoja in Cross River North senatorial district of the state to take part in the elections.He said, “We heard him ranting that the APC must win the election at all cost and that this time around PDP cannot win the election just like they won in senatorial election.“This argument led to a rowdy situation, forcing the angry soldier to open fire on the deceased.”In Imo, unknown gunmen yesterday abducted officials of INEC, including the electoral officer of Isu local government area of the state, Mrs Achibie Ogbonne.They also abducted the returning officer and some collation officers during the election in the area.According to INEC spokesperson in the state, Chinenye Chijioke-Osuji, the election went smoothly and peacefully until the collation time when unscrupulous elements invaded the local government council.He said that the thugs allegedly working with the local government council violently found their way into the premises with tear gas and guns and drove everyone away.She added that all the INEC officials were beaten up and the office was destroyed as all the windows, roof, chairs, and tables were broken, while some of the staff escaped.The INEC spokesperson said the development has been reported to security operatives for possible action.In Anambra, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, said voters were discouraged to come to vote because of what happened in the February 25 presidential and National Assembly polls which he said did not reflect the people’s wish.He also condemned what he called transactional politics where politicians buy votes at all cost.Obi who spoke while voting at his Amatutu polling unit in Agulu, Anaocha local government area of Anambra State at about 11.20 am complained bitterly aboutvoter apathy.On his part, Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the PDP rated INEC below expectations in the conduct of yesterday’s governorship and state assembly elections.Atiku who voted at exactly 12:00 at Ajiya word unit 012 alongside his wife, Hajiya Titi, said INEC did not do anything different from the presidential and National Assembly elections for him to believe they had improved.“INEC has not done anything between presidential and National Assembly elections for me to believe they have improved. To me INEC has performed below expectations”, he added.Meanwhile, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri who voted at Kirchinga unit 004 in Madagali local government area asked his major contender APC to accept defeat in good time.Speaking shortly after casting his vote, the governor urged INEC to follow the electoral guidelines in the conduct, transmission, collation and announcement of election results.But the APC governorship candidate, Sen Aishatu Ahmed Dahiru Binani, who voted at Mbamoi unit, expressed confidence that she would win the election.On whether she was satisfied with the conduct of the election, Binani said INEC has improved with the use of BVAS in the electoral process.She commended President Muhammad Buhari and the people of Adamawa for supporting her in the state.Food, Cash, Drinks, Wrapper Used For Voter Inducement – Yiaga AfricaMeanwhile, a Civil Society Organisation, Yiaga Africa, said yesterday that food, cash, drinks and wrapper were used for voter inducementYiaga Africa noted that it received reports of 15 confirmed cases of vote buying in eight states in the governorship and state assembly elections with food, cash, alcoholic drinks wrapper and a pack of spaghetti.The organisation also said there were intimidation and harassment of voters by political parties and destruction/hijacking of election materials.While calling on INEC to take urgent remedial actions in polling units where cases of infractions and non-compliance with the 2022 Electoral Act to deepen the legitimacy of the final outcome of elections, the organization advised security agencies to respond promptly to reports of voter intimidation and attacks at the polling unit to accord citizens the opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to vote.The Board member of Yiaga Africa, Ezenwa Nwagwu, stated these during the organisation’s mid-day press conference in Abuja.He said, “Vote buying/bribery: Yiaga Africa received 15 confirmed reports of vote buying across 8 states. In Sarkin Mudu Polling Unit (016) in Giade LGA of Bauchi, PDP agents have been sighted bribing accredited voters with N1,000, a wrapper and a pack of spaghetti each. The voters hand over their ballot papers to party agents in exchange for the bribe.Vote Buying, Violence Marred Polls – CDDAlso, the Centre for Democracy Development (CDD), has said the Governorship and State House of Assembly election across the 28 States was characterised by massive vote buying and violence.The organisation said over 1,500 observers deployed bemoaned incidents of vote buying, violence and intimidation during the polls in states including Kano, Jigawa, Lagos, Enugu, Bayelsa, Rivers and Yobe.The CDD’s position is contained in its preliminary findings on the election, released on Saturday in Abuja, and signed by Idayat Hassan, the organisation’s director.CDD said its data showed that there were more instances during the governorship elections compared to the presidential polls of February 25, with this reality reflected across all six geopolitical zones.“This might be a reflection of the heightened political environment around governorship polls, the importance of local personalities in state-level politics, and the shortages of fuel and naira”.The preliminary statement similarly revealed that in the northwest, observers in all seven states reported increased reports of vote trading, primarily by political party agents.It said money was used alongside other materials such as food items, wrappers and a ‘credit voucher’ were used to buy votes and those items were to be redeemed after the results.“Similarly in the northeast, “political party agents in Taraba infiltrated the queue, pretended to be voters and used the chance to offer cash for votes”.CDD observation data also indicated that in the south-south, the general sense of discouragement across the region that due to the unfavourable outcome of the presidential election affected turnout with voters declaring that ‘there is no point’ of coming out to vote.“In the southeast, there were reports of APGA and LP party agents using materials, phones and other souvenirs to entice voters in Anambra state. In the south-south, multiple states reported a desire for voters to show proof of their vote before being paid, with party agents reportedly compiling a list of their voters in Esan Central LGA, Edo state.”The CDD observer data also showed that across the southwest zone INEC officials arrived on time and promptly commenced the process in over 80% of observed polling units.“This trend is broadly consistent across the six geo-political zones. In Anambra state 75% of polling units had INEC officials who arrived on time with voting commencing on average at 8:41. There was even a report of INEC officials in Benue state having slept over at the polling unit to avoid late coming.”
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