KOGI: Soldiers Deployed To INEC Office After Thugs Blocked Inspection Of Election Materials By Political Parties

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised the alarm over a siege at its headquarters in Lokoja, Kogi State, by a mob that barricaded entrances and prevented access to the facility on Wednesday.

Dr. Hale Gabriel Longpet, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Kogi, said the thugs prevented lawyers representing political parties from inspecting documents and materials used in the November 11 off-cycle governorship election in the state.

“It took the intervention of the Nigerian Army to calm the situation down at the State Headquarters. The security agencies have assured us that they will maintain normalcy on our premises.

“We assure all parties and litigants that the Kogi State office is committed to granting unimpeded access to all materials needed to prosecute their petitions,” stated Longpet.

The poll, which saw a total of 18 candidates across various political parties contest to succeed Governor Yahaya Bello, was won by candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Usman Ododo.

Ododo polled 446,237 votes to defeat his closest rival, Murtala Yakubu-Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 259,052 votes.

The Kogi governorship election petition tribunal had ordered INEC to provide certified copies of materials used in the election to the Social Democratic Party whose candidate, Yakubu-Ajaka, came second in the poll.

INEC was ordered to provide the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines and result sheets Adavi, Okene, Okehi, Ogori-Magongo, Ajaokuta, Lokoja, Kogi and Bassa Local Government Areas of the state to the SDP.

This followed two ex-parte motions filed on November 19 by the SDP and its governorship candidate.