Victims of violence during presidential poll

Pockets of violence dotted the presidential election held across the country on March 28, Saturday PUNCH reports

Nigerians will not forget in a hurry the conduct of the March 28, 2015 presidential election said to be peaceful and credible by observers – local and international.

The observers have hailed the citizens for demonstrating maturity and patience in ensuring the success of the free and transparent election, which had initially created tension among the people before the poll.

Former African leaders who monitored last Saturday’s election under the auspices of African Union, Economic Community of West African States and the Commonwealth, have adjudged the poll as peaceful and transparent.

This is even as the observers said the success of the poll would rub off on the African continent as a whole.

The former President of Ghana, John Kuffour (ECOWAS mission) and his Malawian counterpart Bakili Muluzi (Commonwealth mission) and Amos Sawyer (African Union) expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the poll.

Kuffour, who addressed journalists after a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja, asked Nigerians to maintain peace during and after the election.

A woman mourning the death of her relative shot dead by thugs, in Ozuaha in Ikwere LGA in Rivers State… on Saturday. Photo: Stanley Ogidi

Though the conduct of the election was said to be peaceful and credible, some pockets of violence, killings, burning of property and kidnapping dotted the poll keenly contested by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and his opposition All Progressives Congress counterpart, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd).

Other political parties also fielded candidates for the exercise.

Political thugs who felt the presidential poll was not favouring their principals went wild and fomented trouble.

For instance, the election will go down in history as one of the most violent between the PDP and the opposition Labour Party in Cross River State. The LP became vibrant in the state following defection of aggrieved members of the PDP after the party’s primaries late last year.

While the period preceding the PDP primaries witnessed some loss of lives, the post-primary era recorded more violence and killings.

For instance, two persons were reportedly killed at Ekori in Yakurr Local Government Area of the state following a clash between supporters of PDP and those of the LP.

Supporters of the LP candidate for the Abi/Yakurr federal constituency in the state, Dr. Alex Egbona, had confrontations with that of his PDP counterpart, Mr. Bassey Ewa, during a campaign visit to Ekori- the home town of the PDP candidate.

It was learnt that Egbona’s supporters were barred from gaining access to Ekori for campaigns and in an attempt to rebuff the halt, fight ensued and it claimed the lives of two persons loyal to Ewa.

In what could be likened to retaliation, Egbona’s Calabar residence was attacked by gunmen who shot his security details and seized their riffles.

Similarly, barely two weeks to the conduct of the March 28 Presidential and National Assembly elections, the LP candidate for Calabar South/Akpabuyo and Bakassi federal constituency, Mr. Dominic Edem, was kidnapped for over one week by some gunmen.

Edem, who was brutalised by his assailants before he was released, was also made to pay N13m ransom to secure his freedom less than a week to the poll he eventually lost to the incumbent Mr. Essien Ayi of the PDP with about 1000 votes.

Again, the home of the eventual winner of the Cross River Southern District senator-elect, Mr. Gershom Bassey, was not also spared in the ensuing melee as suspected assassins attacked his security details during the period of campaigns.

Irate youths preventing electoral officials from performing their duty at Ajah, Lagos… on Sunday. Photo: Odutayo Odusanya

A lot more deaths and loss of properties were recorded in the Cross River Central Senatorial district during the period under review.

The election began on an ugly note in Rivers State with the kidnap of the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Degema Local Government Area, Mr. Ibigoni Pokima, by a group of gunmen. He has not been released by his captors since he was accosted at Tombia in Degema, Rivers State and taken away. His vehicle had been located.

Again, a soldier and two other persons were killed in Ikwerre and Obio/Akpor local government areas of the state. The soldiers, whose identities had not been disclosed, were shot by gunmen in the area. Sources said the gunmen opened fire where a crowd had gathered for accreditation while one of the shots was directly at the soldier. He died on the spot.

The Brigade Commander, 2 Brigade, Bori Camp, Port Harcourt, Brig.-Gen. Koko Essien, confirmed the incident to the state Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, in Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area.

Also in Ikwere, a supporter of the All Progressives Congress, who was identified as Sampson Wona, was shot dead by armed men suspected to be political thugs. Wona was standing at a polling unit in Ozuoha, waiting for accreditation when bullets allegedly fired by a thug hit him.

The incident caused confusion within the area.

Another member of the APC was shot on Saturday morning, the day of the presidential election at Kpite in Tai Local Government Area of the state. Also, an unidentified person was killed in Eleme Local Government Area while trying to stop a suspected thug from snatching a ballot box.

In Gokana Local Government Area, a group of political thugs set ablaze the house of a former governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Dumbari Dimkpa.

The thugs, according to sources, stormed Dimkpa’s residence in Bera, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State during the poll and torched the building. Also set ablaze were three vehicles and a petrol station belonging to the PDP chieftain.

Apart from the reported deaths, more than a handful of persons sustained varying degrees of injuries ranging from bottle stabs and severe machete cuts. As of Tuesday, one of the injured, Charles Woji, from Ipo, was still lying at the hospital. Thugs in his community rained machete cuts on his head on Saturday morning while accreditation was ongoing.

Moving round the state capital during the exercise last weekend, one of our correspondents witnessed cases of voters and the Independent National Electoral Commission officials being harassed by gangs of young men who in many cases attempted to disrupt the peaceful conduct of the exercise.

Some INEC workers and members of the National Youth Service Corps who feared for their lives were escorted back to their local government offices after the threat became unbearable.

Residents said that last weekend’s election was one of the most tension-soaked in the state in recent times.

The election also left a bad taste in Osun State. Two persons died before and during the conduct of the presidential election.

One of the victims was allegedly killed in Ikirun as supporters of the PDP and those of the APC clashed on the eve of the election.

According to an eyewitness, who was simply identified as Ismaila, one of the victims was a graduate of one of the tertiary institutions in the state.

The witness said the victim, popularly known as “Hunger,” allegedly belonged to a secret cult group and was a supporter of the PDP.

A vandalised vehicle at Oshodi bus stop, Lagos… on Saturday. Photo: Tunde Odesola

Another person, who allegedly worked for the PDP, also died in Ile-Ife while trying to influence voters by distributing money to them. The attempt to influence voters was said to have led to a clash between him and the APC supporters.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Sam Okaula, confirmed both killings and said the police had arrested four suspects in connection with the incidents.

He also said the suspects had been transferred to Osogbo, the state capital, for interrogation.

Okaula added that six others were arrested in the state for causing violence that led to the death of the two people.

The police boss spoke to journalists during the announcement of the results of the presidential election at the INEC headquarters in Osogbo.

He said, “We have recorded two deaths during the course of this election, one in Ikirun and one in Ifetedo, Ile-Ife.

“The incident in Ikirun started when a young man bulldozed his way to a polling unit and decided to manipulate the system by distributing money.

“That led to a commotion whereby a fight ensued and in the process he was killed. We don’t know who he was working for.

“We have arrested three suspects and they are being interrogated right now. The situation in Osun State now is very calm. Our men are on ground and we have taken control of the situation.”

Okaula also disclosed that over 5,000 policemen were deployed in the state for the elections.

He said, “We are touring every nook and cranny of the state. The election was calm except for a few people who wanted to cause problems.

“Three others were arrested in Ikirun in connection with snatching of ballot boxes. We have 10 suspects in our custody now. They will be prosecuted if they are implicated.”

Meanwhile, the Osun PDP Publicity Secretary, Mr. Bola Ajao, said the party was not satisfied with the process and result of the presidential election, stating that the process was marred with violence in some parts of the state.

He said, “There are general perceptions and there are personal perceptions.

Starting with a personal perception, I come from Ikirun, Ifelodun Local Government Area, Osun State, where somebody was killed and many people were injured due to the desperation of the opposition.

“This frightened many people to shun the polling units. If you look at that, you cannot say the election was free. We are not satisfied with the result turned in, we are surprised. As a party, we will sit down, review the entire process and take the necessary actions. We will forward the result to the party headquarters in Abuja.”

Ondo State also recorded its fair share in the violence. On the eve of the presidential election, operatives of the Department of State Service arrested no fewer than seven persons in Okitipupa Local Government Area of the state for allegedly being in possession of 50 Permanent Voter Cards. They were later handed over to the police.

Also on Saturday, the election day, 10 political thugs stormed the Unit 5, Ward 9 in Akure-South Local Government Area of the state and snatched six ballot boxes. The hoodlums carried out the action when polling officials were counting votes.

It was gathered that the hoodlums came with bottles and machetes, which scared away voters, and they went away with the boxes. Security personnel on ground could not stop the attack because they were not armed.

On the same day, hoodlums reportedly destroyed a ballot box at one of the polling units in Akure. It was gathered that the hoodlums smashed the box and destroyed the ballot papers inside it.

The violence spread to Sunday, March 29, as some hoodlums attacked INEC officials in the Ilaje area of the state and snatched the result sheet containing the result for Ilaje/Ese Odo Federal constituency and Ondo South Senatorial district elections.

It was gathered that the results had already been collated and that the officials were on their way to the Okitipupa central collation centre when the incident happened. INEC said it had yet to recover the stolen sheets, but that it would make use of the copy that had been handed to security agencies before the attack. The incident led to a delay in the collation and declaration of result for the two seats.

The Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje, confirmed this to our correspondent.

On Tuesday, March 31, 2015, scores of persons were injured in Idanre when political thugs, suspected to be supporters of the APC and their PDP’s counterparts engaged one another in a fight following the announcement of the Presidential and National Assembly election results. The thugs were said to have attacked themselves with dangerous weapons.

Reports said that many people including traders were injured in the incident, which happened in four different locations of the town. The clash brought social and commercial activities to a close. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Wole Ogodo, confirmed the incident, saying the police had put the situation under control.

All eyes were on Ekiti State before this year’s general elections due to its perceived volatility.

Political analysts had suggested that the state governor, Ayo Fayose, would want to put up a good fight for the PDP to win the 16 local government areas in the state for the party’s candidate, Dr. Jonathan, given his immense involvement in the President’s re-election bid.

Though the presidential election in Ekiti State was largely peaceful, there were a few areas of conflicts. The first disturbing signal of hostility emerged early in Ikere-Ekiti. In the town, a member of the APC, Jide Owolabi, was shot when members of the opposition party reportedly challenged the state Deputy Governor, Dr. Olubunmi Olusola-Eleka, before the commencement of voting.

Olusola-Eleka was allegedly moving around the polling units in Ikere-Ekiti to monitor the accreditation process. Some angry youths were said to have viewed his action as violating the electoral law and asked him to return to his polling unit.

Though report claimed that Owolabi was shot on the buttocks by one of the security operatives attached to the deputy governor, the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, said in a statement that no security men attached to Olusola-Eleka shot any APC member.

Adelusi added that some individuals, who he described as APC thugs hid along Odo-Oja area of the town, waylaid the deputy governor and almost killed him before he escaped.

But APC faulted Adelusi’s claim as one of its leaders and a former governor in the state, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said he received a security report that the PDP perpetrated the act.

The collation officer for Ikere-Ekiti said the reported violence in Ward 6 Unit 2 did not affect the election.

There was also a fracas in Moba Local Government Area. The collation officer for the area said seven polling units were cancelled in the nine units in the council when hoodlums disrupted voting with dangerous weapons.

A similar scenario played out in wards 1 and 2 in Gbonyin Local Government Area where five polling units were vandalised in Aisesegba Ekiti, when, according to the collation officer, hoodlums stopped voting mid-way.

The collation officer for Ijero Local Government Area could not present the master sheet (white paper) during his presentation because he said he had to flee for dear life when his life was threatened.

The agents for the PDP and APC however described his claim as false before the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Sam Olumekun.

There was intermittent security patrol during the elections even though female police officers without arms were deployed in some polling units.

However, spokesperson for the state Police Command, Mr. Albert Adeyemi, said apart from the shooting at Ikere-Ekiti, the command recorded only minor disagreements in some other poling units.

Adeyemi said, “What we had in other polling units in areas like Gbonyin were minor disagreements. It is only in Ikere-Ekiti that there was a case of shooting.’’

Two INEC offices were burnt in Benue State by irate youths. One office was burnt a day after the presidential poll in Logo Local Government Area of the state, while the other was razed two days after in Konshisha council.

An ad-hoc worker with the electoral body was also said to have died on a motorbike accident on the way to her duty post.

Sporadic shootings and snatching of election materials by hoodlums took centre stage in Ebonyi State. The ballot box snatching occurred at Nwakpu market square in Ikwo Local Government Area, Nsukara in Ezza South Local Government Area and in other places.

It was alleged that one of the major political party that fielded presidential candidate for the election instigated the shootings in many polling units in the state. Some INEC ad-hoc workers were also said to have been compromised by some politicians to write the election result in favour of the party.

Chairman, Justice and Equity Organisation, Mr. Tunde Bafunso, who was one of the observers accredited by the electoral body for the election in Lagos State, hailed Nigerians, especially those who supported the peaceful conduct of the elections for their commitment to ensuring enduring democracy in the country.

Bafunso also hailed the two major candidates in the election for abiding by the content of the peace agreement they signed before and after the election.

He said, “No doubt the peace agreement signed by President Jonathan and Gen. Buhari contributed to the success of the election. So, they deserve our commendation for honouring the content of the pact.”

The observer, however, reminded those planning to foment trouble in the April 11 governorship election that officials of the International Criminal Court are in the country to prosecute anyone linked with violence in the course of the conduct of the general elections.

“Even candidates for election will not be spared if they are linked with violence,” Bafunso said.

Reports by Mudiaga Affe, Chukwudi Akasike, Gbenga Adeniji, Falodi Fisayo, Eric Dumo, Jesusegun Alagbe and Tunde Ajaja