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Tag: Ballot Box

  • Guber Poll: 30 ballot box snatching, 50 vote-buying cases listed – CSO

    Guber Poll: 30 ballot box snatching, 50 vote-buying cases listed – CSO

    A civil society organisation, Connected Development, says it recorded 30 incidents of ballot box hijacking and 50 cases of vote-buying during the just concluded governorship polls across the country.

    The Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, Hamzat Lawal, revealed the statistics during a post-election briefing in Abuja, on Tuesday.

    According to him, data from the 20,000 election observers deployed by the organisation through its ‘Uzabe’ platform to monitor the polls, showed a 27 percent voter turnout on election day, due to issues of intimidation, violence and voter suppression

    Lawal explained that the figures represented a disturbing trend for democratic governance in the country, and called on stakeholders to ensure the prosecution of those responsible for the electoral malpractices and other infractions.

    It said,: “Our statistics show that there were 30 cases of ballot box hijacking across the country in the gubernatorial election, an increase from the previous election. Specific results show Ahoada west LGA in Rivers state, and Oshodi/Isolo LGA in Lagos state just to mention a few. Also, cases were recorded in Bayelsa, Delta, etc.

    Vote buying, which our statistics also recorded 50 cases in this present election, also shows an increase across different polling units in the country, for example in polling unit 003 Gidan Bunu ward of Zuru LGA in Kebbi state, in polling unit under tree 021 Gidan Alhazi ward, Wudil LGA in Kano.

    “The 2023 general elections had 27 percent which is 24.9 million out of 90 million registered voters deciding the fate of a country of over 200 million people. It is unfortunate as well that despite the mass cry of the public for security agencies to respond to issues of intimidation, violence and voter suppression, the security agencies kept mute.

    “There were massive cases of the aforementioned issues in states like Kano, Kebbi, Zamfara, kaduna and sokoto in the North West, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta in the South South, Lagos, Ogun in the South West, Imo, Enugu, Abia in the South East, Kogi, Benue in both elections”.

    In his address the CODE boss also condemned all forms of thuggery and violence reported across the country, while stating that the actors must be made to face the full wrath of the law.

    “We frown against all forms of electoral fraud, violence and thuggery perpetuated by any political party throughout the course of this election cycle.

    “We are appalled by it and we must make sure that these actors of these heinous crimes face the full wrath of the law. We cannot sit back and watch our democracy overridden by these acts. We must do well to do better

    Lawal also condemned the ethnic profiling that took place in most parts of the country before and during the elections and cautioned Nigerians against such ugly development.

    Source:PUNCH

  • Military pledges loyalty to President Buhari, warns politicians seeking power outside ballot box

    Military pledges loyalty to President Buhari, warns politicians seeking power outside ballot box

    The Defence Headquarters has dissociated self from any anti-democratic utterances and positions as well as pledged loyalty to the President Muhammadu Buhari and the 1999 Constitution as Amended.

    The Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, stated this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

    Nwachukwu said the attention of the military high command had been drawn to a statement suggesting that current political leadership should hand over power to the military for the purpose of restructuring.

    He said that the statement was purported to have been made by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Robert Clark.

    “The Nigerian Military wish to dissociate itself from such anti-democratic utterance and position.

    “Let it be stated categorically that the Armed Forces of Nigeria remain fully committed to the present Administration and all associated democratic institutions.
    “We shall continue to remain apolitical, subordinate to the Civil Authority, firmly loyal to the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari and the 1999 Constitution as Amended.

    “We shall continue to discharge our constitutional responsibilities professionally, especially in protecting the country’s democracy, defence of the territorial integrity of the country as well as protection of lives and properties of citizens,” he said.

    The defence spokesperson further warned that the military high command would not tolerate misguided politicians who nursed the inordinate ambition to rule the country outside the ballot box.

    He said that the Defence Headquarters would advise those politicians to banish such thoughts, adding that the military under the current leadership remained resolute in the defence of the nation’s democracy and its growth.

    “We also wish to remind all military personnel that it is treasonable to even contemplate this illegality.

    “The full wrath of the law will be brought to bear on any personnel found to collude with people having such agenda.

    “The current security challenges are not insurmountable as the military, in partnership with other security agencies are working assiduously to ameliorate the challenge.

    “Nigeria will know peace again,” be said.

  • Hoodlums snatch ballot boxes in Lokoja

    Some armed thugs in police and army uniforms invaded polling units in Adankolo community in Lokoja, shooting sporadically to scare away voters on the queue.

    A Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the armed hoodlums arrived in a van and immediately started shooting.

    Voters and electoral officers scampered to safety, a development which made it possible for the thugs to carry away ballot boxes, ballot papers and other sensitive election materials.

    Worst hit were the five polling units at St Luke Primary School at Adankolo where materials at all the five polling units in the school premises were taken away.

    Also at the Polling Unit in NEPA area in Lokoja, the hoodlums, some of whom were masked, also made away with election materials after scaring away INEC officials and voters.

    Other areas under the siege of armed thugs were polling units in Ward A in Lokoja Constituency 1.

    At Okengwe Polling Unit in Okene Local Government, voting was temporarily disrupted when hoodlums attempted to snatch ballot boxes and other election materials.

    There had been fears about the possibility of armed attack on the election day among residents before now.

    One of the candidates contesting for a seat in the state House of Assembly had earlier raised the alarm over plans by some elements to disrupt election in the ward.

    The candidate, Mr Suleiman Babadoko of the PDP, had appealed to the police and DSS to quickly move in to stop the violence.