Author: The Nation

Lagos Police Commissioner (CP) Owohunwa Idowu on Saturday said many suspects have been arrested over election-related offences and exhibits recovered from them.

He spoke with reporters after he returned from Maryland where there were skirmishes.

Idowu also visited Mafoluku in Oshodi and Surulere where armed thugs disrupted the voting exercise as well as snatched and burnt ballot boxes with papers in them.

The Nation reports that in Oshodi, the affected areas are Agboola, Ijaiye, Obisanya, Owolabi, Branco, Adedeji and Owoseni. Three units were affected at Ijaiye a d Branco each; one each at Agboola and Obisanya and two at Branco Streets
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It was yet to be confirmed the number of polling units affected at Adedeji and Owoseni Streets, as well as Dipo Olubi, Itire and Aguda areas of Surulere.

Read Also ; Lagos CP to politicians: I won’t condone violence

Our Correspondent who monitored election security in Lagos observed that some voters took extra measures to prevent thugs from attacking their units including carrying dogs to their voting centres.

Giving situation reports, CP Idowu said the exercise was very peaceful and organised in Epe axis.

He said: “We visited about five polling units in Epe and there was this family way of approaching the process. I interacted with them and they kept insisting that Epe was calm. To them, they are a peaceful family, so, regardless of the political divide they remain one family and work towards ensuring that they maintain peace.

“What we are dealing with here got to do with human conduct. It could be unpredictable or driven by passion, emotion or even criminal intent. We recorded specific instances of thuggery and violence.

“These things will always happen and when they do we will emplace a response plan to be able to respond to most of those incidences. We have made arrests and recoveries. “The Nigeria police, military, DSS and all others have been working as a team since morning that we have been having those isolated challenges.

“The police didn’t do it alone, even the citizens sometimes trigger our actions to come to their rescue.”

“We should jointly condemn thuggery, violence or anything that violates the electoral act or the criminal status of this country.”

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has announced the collation of the Presidential and National Assembly results will start on Sunday.

He stated this on Saturday while giving updates on the voting process nationwide.

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Yabuku said the Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) worked perfectly well in most of the states across the federation, but the body experienced challenges in some parts of the country.

Yakubu said the challenge experienced was the inability of the Commission to open the polling units by 8:30 am as agreed in a number of polling units.

PU012, Ajiya, Gwadabawa ward, Yola north LGA

Presidential

APC 57

PDP 282

LP 6

NNPP 1

Invalid: 4

The Niger State APC governorship candidate, Mohammed Bago and the Niger East senatorial candidate, Sani Musa, have delivered their polling units in Bida and Paikoro for Tinubu.

In the Twashagi Rabba polling unit where Bago voted, APC got 151 votes, PDP got 39 and NNPP got four votes.

Read Also ; Adamu loses polling unit to Labour Party

In Musa’s unit, APC got 142 votes, PDP got 47 and Labour Party got 16.

The senatorial candidate also won with 170 votes while PDP got 39 votes. LP got 16.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has confirmed the death of one of its operatives Corps Assistant II Abdusalam Roqeeb from Lagos State Command in a road accident.

It said the accident occurred on Friday 24, February at a sharp bend at Giri junction, Abuja while five other personnel who sustained injuries are presently receiving treatment in a hospital.

The accident involved an NSCDC-branded vehicle conveying authorised identification tags meant for personnel on election duty in Lagos, the Spokesman of the Corps, Olusola Odumosu said in a statement.

Odumosu said: “Following the unfortunate incident, the Commandant General (CG) of the Corps, Dr Abubakar Audi, commiserated with families of the deceased, Lagos State Command and the entire Corps.

“He assured that, in line with his commitment to staff welfare, the Corps’ management will take very good care of the injured and bear full responsibility for their treatment to ensure their full recovery and safe return to their families.

“However, it is expedient to correct the erroneous impression created by some online reporters, blogs and media outlets that the personnel involved in the accident was conveying election materials.

“The Corps is a non-partisan and apolitical organisation, hence, has no business conveying election materials as speculated in some quarters.

Read also ; Election: NSCDC deploys 2,350 personnel in Jigawa

“The items that were scattered on the road at the scene of the accident in the video shared online were election identification tags meant for Lagos Command personnel on election duty before the unfortunate incident and not ballot papers or PVCs.

“The CG prayed for the repose of the soul of the gallant officer who died and soonest recovery of others in the hospital.

“The officer has been buried according to Islamic rites. “

One person has allegedly died following a crisis that led to the disruption of elections in Dekina Local Government Area in Kogi State.

Some parts of the council like Anyigba, Dekina town and Abocho were said to have also witnessed the destruction of election materials deployed to the area by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to an eyewitness report, one Akaihaba was said to have been shot dead while attempting to snatch ballot boxes at Agwudoko area in Anyigba in Dekina Local Government.

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At Udaba-Dekina, ballot boxes were said to have been destroyed by unknown gunmen who were allegedly sponsored by a woman who retired from one of the local government councils in Kogi state

The Tudunwada polling unit in Dekina town was said to have been destroyed by Ann allegedly sponsored group.

It was however learnt that voters in other parts the local government like Egume, Ojikpadala, Abejulo-Egume, Acharu were voting peacefully.

The Police Public Relations Officer of the Kogi State Comman, William Aya was yet to pick calls to either deny or confirm the report.

Cross River Governor Ben Ayade has expressed sadness over the late arrival of voting materials in some areas of the State for Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.

Ayade, who voted by 14.08.pm, at Polling Unit 033, Ipong Ward lamented his people were at risk of being disenfranchised owing to the delayed arrival of materials.

The late arrival of materials was also reported in some polling units in Calabar South and Calabar Municipal. In Ward 9 unit eleven, the BVAS malfunctioned and was not replaced until 3.10 pm.

Speaking at his polling unit, Ayade said: “Well I am surprised that I have just cast my vote at about 2:08.pm. We didn’t have materials until 1:pm and when the materials did arrive, there were no INEC staff available to attend to voters.”

Read Also ; Cross River chairman dies, Ayade mourns

To ensure no one is disenfranchised, the Governor appealed: “I hope INEC will allow every single person who has come here to vote to do so without being institutionally disenfranchised.”

The situation was different in Abi’s local government area, the hometown of Dr. Betta Edu, the National Women Leader of the APC.

Edu, who voted before noon expressed delight at the peaceful conduct of the exercise, stating the turnout also had been huge.