Malfunctioning Card Readers, Violence Mar Massive Turnout In Lagos

There were violence and widespread complaints of malfunctioning card readers in some polling units during the presidential and National Assembly elections in Lagos. This marred the peaceful exercise and massive turnout recorded in many areas of the state.

It was so bad that prospective voters at polling unit 18 located at junction of Ohafia/Ago Palace Way in Okota, Oshodi/Isolo local government area, had to scamper for their safety when hoodlums unleashed mayhem on the polling centre. The hoodlums, who were many in number, however succeeded in setting some ballot boxes on fire. They also attempted to force voters to thumbprint for a candidate before security came to the rescue.

It was also a reign of terror at a polling unit 23 located on Baba-Ewe Street/Ago Place Way, which was also set on fire. The same show of shame did not spare polling units 035 and 036, located at Adeneken Street/Alhaji Olusesi Street Junction and Adeneken Street/Olusesi, also in Ago Palace Way, respectively. This disruption was deftly carried out by a group of thugs who came in tricycles and motorcycles before a team from SARS intervened and arrested some suspects.

Armed hoodlums also stormed several polling units in Ajeromi-Ifelodun local government area, and destroyed electoral materials. They also chased away electoral officials. A resident, who was disenfranchised because of the ensuing melee, said the hoodlums were armed with dangerous weapons. According to him, the thugs simply asked anyone who wanted to “vote for the PDP to leave the polling booth.” As if that was not enough, the miscreants returned later to destroy all the voting materials, included the votes already cast.

Although his polling unit did not record any violent incident, there were concerns where the governorship candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Jimi Agbaje, voted. His concerns were as a result of malfunctioning card readers in his polling unit in Apapa. After exercising his franchise, the PDP candidate, who voted at polling unit 004 in Ward A (Liverpool), Apapa around 11.20a.m, was miffed that the card reader rejected his fingerprints and those of his wife, Biola, and those of three other voters.

However, Mr. Agbaje and his family eventually voted after their names and photographs were verified manually on the voter register. He said cases of card reader malfunction could vitiate the credibility of the polls, adding that manual verification of voters was susceptible to electoral fraud because riggers could cash on it to compromise results.

“Coming to my polling unit, I am concerned that the card readers are not working; the five, six of us, that came to vote before and after me, the card reader wasn’t working.

“And that opens room to all kinds of insinuations, all kinds of mischief and for me, when you get a situation where you have to bypass the card reader; that means we haven’t gotten it right. It means it is now open to all kinds of human manipulation because if a card reader doesn’t work, one can collude with one or two officials there, and with the wrong information, bypass the system.

“That is the issue because there is no room in that place for the agents to confirm that the person whose card did not work on the card reader is the owner of that card. So, games can be played,” Agbaje lamented.

But complaints arising from malfunctioning card readers were not limited to the polling units of candidates in the opposition parties alone. At polling 033 in Victoria Garden City (VGC) where Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who is also the running mate of President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), exercised his civic responsibility, there was late arrival of electoral officers. Up till 10.30am, accreditation was yet to commence, as party agents were busy scrutinizing the voting materials. This delayed accreditation and voting in the polling unit where more than 2,500 people are expected to cast their votes. Things got worse when 3 out of 5 card readers in the polling unit began to malfunction. Voting was still ongoning as at 7pm when this reporter was filed.

Also in the same polling unit where Vice President Osinbajo voted in VGC, the presidential candidate of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), Fela Durotoye, expressed his concerns about the slow voting process occasioned by malfunctioning card readers. “A couple of the card readers are having battery issues because the batteries have run down and they did not have recharge. We learnt they are bringing rechargeable batteries and all of that. The voting process has been very slow and I hope they can speed up the process before voters start getting agitated due to the delays,” he said while lamenting that the voting process was very slow.

However, apart from pockets of violence and malfunctioning card readers, there was massive turnout of voters in many polling units in Lagos during the presidential and National Assembly polls. Results were still being collated in many areas as at the time of compiling this report.