On Saturday, February 25th, 2023, Jennifer Efidi, who resides in Surulere part of Lagos State, had set out with her daughter to stroll to the nearest polling unit. Her mission was simple- to vote for the presidential candidate of her choice. She arrived at 9 a.m., happy to see people voting in a calm environment, and joined the people waiting in line to vote.
Like many other helpless Nigerians who constantly come under frequent unprovoked attacks, Jennifer was stabbed by political thugs. The suspected thugs had invaded her election polling unit to scuttle the electoral process. Soon after the attack, gory images of resilient Jennifer, who returned to cast her ballot after receiving first aid, trended on all social media platforms and made it to the cover pages of major newspapers across Nigeria.
Jennifer’s photos showed her face covered in blood with others showing a bandaged face. Jennifer was lucky to have had her story widely reported across many media platforms. She told newsmen that the men succeeded in disrupting voting, as voters and poll workers scampered for safety and voting materials were destroyed.
For others who were not so lucky, but attacked on election day, they’ve moved on with their wounds, uncertain if they’ll participate in future elections in the country.
An international rights group, Human Rights Watch, in its post-election assessment, described the exercise “as a mix of experiences for voters.”
Ahead of the elections, the Nigerian Government, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and security agencies, had assured voters that everything was in place to protect them. Looking back, it was a promise not kept.
Authorities had assured that they had put measures in place to ensure adequate security. The first glaring sign of danger was the refusal by the authorities to arm policemen assigned to protect polling units. They’d no guns, teargas canisters, bats or pepper spray. The only ‘weapons’ they’d were their uniforms, with a tiny crest- NPF (Nigeria Police Force).
According to Human Rights Watch, “Nigeria’s elections have historically been fraught with violence and abuses. The 2019 general elections were marred by attacks from government security officers and thugs acting on behalf of politicians. Calls for authorities to make justice and accountability a priority have yielded little or no results.”
Prior to the presidential polls, the media, civil society groups, and other critical stakeholders had called on Nigerian authorities to put in place early warning systems and adequate response mechanisms to ensure voters at the polls would be safe. However, reports that followed after the elections showed that the authorities failed in protecting voters.
Like Jennifer Efidi, a woman who was brutalized at the polling unit, attacks on voters were reported across Lagos and in other states like Rivers, Kogi, Edo, Imo and Kano.
Security Caught Brutalizing Voters in River State
In Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, thugs attacked polling units in Ward 5 Unit 43 Elelenwo and Ward Nine Unit Three, Rumueme, both in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area. Incidentally, the governor of the State, Nyesom Wike, is from the Local Government. In 1999, he was the elected Council chairman of the Municipal.
According to eyewitnesses, the thugs stormed the polling unit around 4.20 p.m. in two Toyota Sienna buses. “They commandeered the electoral officers and the materials into the vehicles and zoomed off as the unarmed security personnel at the polling unit watched helplessly,” an eyewitness revealed.
Johnson Woka, told newsmen that the hoodlums came into the polling unit, chased away voters waiting for their votes to be countered and made away with the ballot boxes.
“When the political thugs came to the centre, they insisted that the votes would be counted at the Registration Area Centre (RAC) and some voters protested. We told them that what they are demanding contradicts INEC processes that state that votes should be counted at the polling units.
“They proceeded to the Presiding Officer and the lone police officer and said they had agreed to move the ballot boxes to the RAC which we knew was not true,” Woka said.
In Kogi: Young University Graduate murdered on Election Day
In Kogi State, a young promising graduate, Akayama, was gunned down at Anyigba, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, by thugs who invaded the town to cart away electoral materials. According to multiple eyewitnesses, the thugs took over the town, shooting sporadically and carted away electoral materials from different polling units.
The deceased Akayama, according to locals, was a graduate of Economics from the Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba. Eyewitnesses also reported that thugs chased away voters from polling units at Dekina, Agbeji, Ajiolo, Abejukolo, and Ejule communities, all in Kogi East.
Widespread Violence Mars Election in Akwa Ibom State
In Akwa Ibom State, hoodlums suspected to be political party supporters, inflicted machete cuts on two unnamed voters before they carted away with one BVAS meant for polling units 11 and 12 at Oniong West Ward one in Onna Local Government Area of the state.
Security Aided Poll Distruption
Thugs also attacked two different polling areas in Katsina and Delta states, stealing at least eight BVAS machines. INEC said bandits attacked its personnel, stealing six BVAS machines in Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State. A separate attack occurred in the Oshimili area of Delta State leading to the loss of two BVAS machines.
In Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, voting commenced late due to an earlier bandit attack. In Ogun State, gunmen invaded a polling unit in Ayegbami, in the Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, destroyed a ballot box, and disrupted the electoral process in the area.
In Edo State, elections suffered a huge setback within the Benin metropolis, when suspected political thugs invaded voting centres and disrupted the process. At Oredo Local Government Area Ward 4, the thugs stormed the voting unit 42, shot into the air and took away the ballot boxes at the unit.
Leader of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, was arrested a few days after the elections. He was accused of masterminding the violence and led thugs in Tudun Wada that set ablaze the secretariat of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the area, with two persons feared dead.
3 electorates murdered in Kano
A Kano State Magistrates’ Court, thereafter, remanded Doguwa, at a correctional facility. Kano State Police Public Relations Officer, Haruna Kiyawa, said Doguwa was arrested in connection with a suspected case of criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, causing grievous hurt, mischief by fire and inciting disturbance.
He said the arrest followed complaints “received on the gruesome murder of three persons, causing grievous injury to eight others in Tudun Wada LGA on 26/02/2023 while the collation of election results was ongoing and an alleged viral video of some victims with suspected gunshots in the Social Media.”
“He was subsequently arrested by detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department Bompai Kano at Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano,” the police scribe said.
Gross Process Violations in Imo
In Imo, INEC said its ad-hoc officials were abducted, taken to an unknown destination and forced to thumb-print on ballot papers during Saturday’s bye-election for Ngor Okpala State Constituency.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, said 203 people were arrested for various electoral offences, while 18 firearms were recovered from political thugs across the country during the February 25, 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections.
He said the police responded to 18 major incidents across the country during the elections, arrested 203 offenders linked to various electoral offences and sundry crimes and recovered 18 firearms of various descriptions recovered from political thugs. He, however, urged them to brace up for the governorship and state houses of assemblies elections slated for Saturday, to ensure a crisis free process.
He said: “Second is to assess the security situation at all levels in the immediate aftermath of the February 25, 2023 elections. This is with a view to identifying trends and patterns within the post-election security space, and draw inferences on possible threats that may require mitigation ahead of the next rounds of the national electoral process on March 11, 2023.
“The third focus of this election security review conference is to draw on our rich and diverse professional experiences in perfecting our action plan for the upcoming governorship and state assembly elections on March 11, 2023 and guaranteeing a stable internal security order ahead of the electoral exercise across the country.
“Democracy is a dynamic process. Election security governance practice is similarly dynamic. By implication, as our democratic culture evolves, the security framework that aids in the advancement of the process must also be continually perfected. As the lead agency in the election security framework, therefore, it is natural that the citizens will continually demand of us a high level security architecture that will deepen their trust and confidence in the electoral process.
“Consequently, we remain duty bound to re-commit ourselves to pathways that will incrementally strengthen our operational capacity and professional knowledge in navigating through the complex dynamics of our electoral process as we strive to police our democratic heritage and meet the expectations of the electorates.
“In this regard, while the presidential and national assembly elections might have presented varying degrees of challenges as captured in the post-election operations feedback that have been received across the various police commands, I am delighted to note, with a high level of satisfaction, the resilience and utmost professionalism which you all displayed in the course of your election security operations.
“I am particularly elated that you situated your operations strictly within the context of the reviewed standard operational guidelines and rules for police officers and other security agents on electoral duties, which was issued to all officers in the countdown to the election operations.
“I am also excited that you all maintained a high level of civility and situated your operations within the dictates of rule of law. Yet, you remained apolitical, firm and supportive of the Independent National Electoral Commission and sacrificed to create an enabling environment for the law-abiding electorates to peacefully exercise their franchise, while denying space for electoral adversaries to manifest their ill-intentions to threaten the overall process.
“Even more soothing is the feedback received to the effect that you responded promptly and courageously to most of the breaches that were recorded and largely mitigated them with the highest level of self-restraint and best global policing standard in the circumstance.
“In your quest to maintain order within the electoral space, you succeeded on a commendable scale in stabilizing such threatened space, safely rescued several INEC officials and citizens that were under threats, secured sensitive materials, made series of recoveries, including arms and ammunition of various descriptions as well as effected, in the most professional manner, the arrest of several electoral adversaries nationwide.
“In this regard, of the about 185 major incidents that the police responded to across the country during the elections, a total of 203 offenders linked to various electoral offences and sundry crimes have, so far, been arrested, while not less than 18 firearms of various descriptions were recovered from “political thugs during the exercise. All the cases are at various stages of investigations at the Nigeria Police Electoral Offences Desks and I assure you that in due course, they will be concluded and processed to the legal department of the Independent National Electoral Commission for prosecution.”