A kidnapped electoral official who was abducted in Udung Uko local government area of Akwa Ibom State while on election duty has recounted his experience in the hands of his abductors.
Israel Adizua who spoke at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) collation centre in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital said election materials were snatched from him and he was taken hostage by political thugs allegedly sent by a well know politician in the area.
He said because he was kidnapped and kept where he could make any contact with people for several hours, election could not take place in the area.
“That is why there is no result, I was abducted by thugs and beaten mercilessly, I suffered a broken skull,’ he said.
According to him, he was rescued when he managed to contact the resident electoral commissioner who reached out to the area commander of the Nigeria police, Oron, adding that he would probably have been a dead man. Related News
Corroborating the electoral official, Mike igini, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Akwa Ibom State decried the level of intimidation of electoral officials during the just concluded presidential and National Assembly elections.
He disclosed that a tracking system has been introduced by INEC to monitor the movement of ballot papers from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the local government areas making it difficult for hijacked materials not to be noticed.
Igini who blamed the political elites for the violence and intimidation said University lecturers who served as returning officers had been attacked while corps members were also manhandled adding that many of them had to spend the night in the forest.
“It is a total debasement of democracy that we all fought for. Election should rekindle our hope in democracy, ” he said.
According to him, any issue during elections should be resolved at the polling units without people resorting to violence.
