Widespread violence, intimidation of voters, and attacks on or abduction of election officers and observers, marred the integrity of the governorship election that took place in Kogi State Saturday, Civil Society Organisations have said.
Other shortcomings that diminished the rating of the polls in the state include massive rigging, ballot box snatching, vote buying, and shootings at polling units, said the organisations which served as observer groups during the voting.
Adele Jinaidu, a professor and chairman of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), warned at a world press conference that the level of violence observed during the polls would undermine the integrity of the exercise. Jinaidu called for urgent security intervention.
CDD described the conduct of the election as falling short of public expectation despite the public outcry against electoral violence in the state.
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In a related development, YIAGA Africa, another CSO, decried reports of voter inducement and vote buying across the local government areas . Specifically, YIAGA noted that in Adavi (PU 001 Afinorere) Ankpa (PL 010, ward 01), Ibaji (PU 007 , Itale Iyanward) I’d ah (PU 001 Ugwod) Yagba East PU 01, ward 08) Kogi K. K (PU 005, Ukwu ward Ajaokuta (PU Geregu ward) and Contament Centre (PU 005) voters were paid as much as N5,000 in some cases in exchange for their votes.
Also at Aluaja, Iyano ward in Ibaji local government area, INEC officials were given N15,000 and Security agents N50,000 to compromise the process.
YIAGA Africa therefore called on INEC to cancel election in polling units with cases of snatching of ballot boxes , violence and disruption, saying in the spirit of transparency, YIAGA Africa called on INEC to make public the list of polling units where elections are cancelled.
When the election started in the morning, many people thought it was going to be free, fair and credible. But that expectation was short-lived because around 12.15pm the tradition that is entrenched in Kogi State elections started evolving. Sporadic gunshots began to rent the air.
At Crowther Memorial Grammar School, six Hilux van filled with people dressed in police uniforms drove in a breakneck. As prospective voters stood up to see what would happen next, gunshots began to ring out.
An example of an attack on election workers or observers was the one on Search For Common Ground (SFCG) Coordinator, Gift Omoniwa, at Ganaja where she had gone to observer the election, and other people that were bullied across the state.
