February 23, 2019 has gone down in history as the day Nigerians went out for the 6th time to elect a new president since after the return of democratic governance in the country in 1999.
Though the election witnessed a fair turnout of voters, it was not, like in any other immature democracy, without its imperfections and challenges that brought the whole exercise to the brink of implosion. Besides late arrival of electoral materials, there was massive card-reader failure or malfunctioning in many polling units.
There were also serious security lapses, giving rise to attacks by hoodlums as experienced in many parts of the country.
In some places, INEC officials were chased away and all voting materials, including ballot papers and boxes, were either burnt or destroyed. The exercise also recorded loss of lives, occasioned by activities of hoodlums.
The malfunctioning of the card readers questioned what the electoral body, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), did differently on logistics.
At the time of this report, Situation Room had said that about 16 deaths across eight states were recorded: Borno – 2, Bayelsa – 2, Rivers – 6, Yobe – 2, Kogi -2, Ebonyi – 2, Lagos – 1, and Zamfara – 1.
On his assessment of the conduct of the election, Peter Obi, vice presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), decried alleged security agents’ harassment of voters in Anambra State.
He made the statement after casting his vote at his Amatutu ward 1 polling unit in Agulu, Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State. Obi said it was rather too early to say which way the vote would sway.
In Ondo State, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) expressed concern over the increasing incident of vote buying during elections in the country. Speaking with BDSUNDAY while monitoring the election on Saturday, CAN chairman, John Ayo Oladapo, said he observed that people were still being given money to vote.
Oladapo, however, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the smooth commencement of the poll, saying the electoral body really prepared for the poll.
He described vote buying as a threat to the nation’s democracy, urging people to be conscientious and vote candidates of their choice. “The election has been going smoothly and I can say INEC has done well; however, the issue of money inducement is happening but not openly and it is only the keen observer that will notice”, the cleric said.
Raising concern over the massive electoral fraud that attended the elections, the YIAGA Africa Watching The Vote (WTV) Group said it had reported cases of ballot box snatching, votes buying and other irregularities across the country.
It also raised concerns over the arrest and detention of accredited observers in Kafanchan, Kaduna State.
The Chair, Watching The Vote Working Group, Hussaini Abdu, Co-Chair and Executive Director, YIAGA AFRICA, Samson Itodo, said this on Saturday in a press statement.
The group also said it received over 100 verified critical incident reports concerning the late opening of polls across Nigeria. It stated that it deployed 3,906 election observers in the country.
“In Kafanchan, the YIAGA AFRICA supervisor was arrested and detained at the Kafanchan Area command in Kaduna state. This has, however, been resolved as the observer was later released.
“YIAGA AFRICA received reports from one polling unit in Yobe State, Machina Local Government Area, Damai Ward where observers were denied access to the polling unit to observe. YIAGA AFRICA is in contact with local authorities and continues to follow the situation closely.
“Election materials were reported to be snatched by unknown persons at the RAC centre in Okrika LGA, River state which led to no voting in ward 06, 07, 08 and 09 of Okrika LGA in Rivers State. This was also reported in PU 003 ward 10 Emohua LGA, Rivers state.
“Reports of vote buying came from PU 010/01/10/13 Omala LGA in Kogi state,” the statement reads.
While calling for transparent results collation process, the group urged party agents to conduct themselves in orderly manner.
“INEC is encouraged to remind Resident Electoral Commissioners to instruct all election officials under their supervision to allow accredited citizen observers to access polling units in accordance with the electoral law. This includes instruction to the security personnel to allow free movement of accredited observers.
“With the late commencement of polls, YIAGA AFRICA calls on INEC to ensure that polling officials strictly adhered to the electoral guidelines on accreditation and voting across board. This includes ensuring that there is no attempt to speed up the process of accreditation — proper application of the Smart Card Reader to accredit voters must continue throughout the country,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Ondo State has expressed concern over the increasing incident of vote buying during elections in the country.
CAN chairman, John Ayo Oladapo, who spoke with our correspondent, said he observed that people were still being given money to vote.
“The election has been going smoothly and I can say INEC has done well; however, the issue of money inducement is happening but not openly and it is only the keen observer that will notice,” the cleric said.
Voting was disrupted at Ward 2, unit 12 and 13, St-James Grammar School, Afuze in Owan East local government when suspected political thugs invaded the polling units and poured engine oil on ballot boxes.
Eyewitness account had it that the election was ongoing peacefully when suddenly the thugs invaded the voting centres and poured substance suspected to be an engine oil to disfigure the already used ballot boxes.
Lagos boils
There was serious crisis at polling unit 023B located very close to the Ago-Okota Police Headquarters along Ago Palace Way, Lagos after some thugs snatched and burnt ballot papers as voting was on going.
BDSUNDAY understands that as at the time this incident occurred, there were no Foreign Election Observers or security officials at the polling unit 023 along Ago Palace Way, but Police arrived 10 minutes after the incident and started shooting and releasing tear gas.
When BDSUNDAY visited the polling booth at around 1:07pm, some ‘bad boys’ and political thugs were sighted on Okada and Keke Maruwa taking off in a hurry after causing confusion by throwing stones, pure water and plank that made voters and INEC officials take to their heels.
On disserting the polling unit due to the confusion, the thugs were able to snatch the ballot boxes and papers, threw them on the floor, poured fuel and set some of the ballot papers ablaze.
Narrating the ordeal, a voter who gave his name as Chukwuma told our correspondent that the action was a calculated attempt to rob non-indigenes of their civic right of deciding who the next Nigerian President will be.
“I blame the police for not keeping watch since it had been made known to the residents of Ago that they would not allow them to vote as the bad boys threatened the residents on Thursday that the exercise would be interrupted. We were supposed to have restricted movement but it surprised me that these people came with okada and keke maruwa without being noticed,” another resident, who gave her name as Joy, lamented.
Opposition strongholds targeted
While the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), has kept to its promise of pulling off the rescheduled 2019 election yesterday Saturday February 23, 2019 across the country, the elections witnessed interesting twists, repeat of old tricks, and some level of violence in a number of polling booths nationwide.
The election, which was relatively peaceful when compared with the tension that built during the campaign and the one-week extension, also witnessed huge turnout of voters who seemed to be more prepared at safeguarding and making their votes count.
The safeguarding of votes was prominent at some polling units regarded as strongholds of the opposition, especially in Lagos. At the Festac 11 voting area, in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos, comprising two polling units (002 and 003), the voters who came out in mass from 8am voted and waited for the votes to be counted.
But the intrigue is that after voting, most of them openly announced that they were ready to deal with ballot box snatchers. True to their words, two young men who went closer to the ballot boxes when the card reader was rebooting were beaten.
Also, a police woman attached to the boot was asked to walk an unruly party agent out or would be accused of working for the party. Speaking on the incident, Amajor Ekine, a voter at the boot, said they are proactive now because some hoodlums snatched the unit’s ballot boxes during the last election, hence they are on the lookout.
“Of course, we know who paid them to snatch the boxes because Amuwo Odofin is not their stronghold. Our votes must count in this election and I ask voters to resist intimidations and guide their votes because they will count”, Ekine said.
As well, an elderly man nearing 70 years, who was the first to vote at the unit, asked younger voters not to fall to the intimidation or trick of vote buying because their future would be determined greatly by the choices they make with their votes.
Elsewhere in Jakande Estate, Mile 2, voters had to stop voting until perceived fake party agents, unaccredited voters and unauthorized security officers left after attempts by some of the voters to call police authorities to confirm the eligibility of their presence at the polling units.
But the story took another twist in Okota, a perceived stronghold of the opposition. At a major pulling unit along the Ago Palace Way, some hoodlums who could not snatch the ballot boxes set them on fire. Unfortunately, the election in that area recorded the first causality as angry voters set one of the box snatchers on fire.
Ogochi Okorie, a voter at the polling unit, said they hoodlums were able to beat the voters, police and officials of the poll because they camouflaged as INEC staff, but their true identity was unveiled when they went after the ballot boxes.
“I am not happy that life was lost because no matter the amount of money they were given to snatch or burn the ballot boxes, their lives are more than the money. Now, the sponsors of the violence are free, while the unfortunate young man just died for nothing. Where are the children of these people that sponsored them, if one may ask”, Okorie lamented.
CHUKA UROKO, OBINNA EMELIKE, AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE, YOMI AYELESO, Akure, Emmanuel Ndukuba, Awka, OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja and IDRIS UMAR MOMOH/CHURCHILL OKORO, BENIN
