Insight Guber election: Groups condemn voter suppression, violence in Lagos, Ebonyi, others

Civil society organisations (CSOs) have criticised suppression, intimidation, violence and ethnic profiling of voters in Lagos, Ebonyi and other states during the March 18 gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections.

Briefing newsmen during the election, the Chief Executive Officer of Connected Development (CODE), Hamzat Lawal, berated attacks and suppression of voters in Lagos, noting that this was not good for the growth of democracy.

He cited the brutalisation of a voter in Ebonyi State for refusing to vote for a particular political party, stressing that it was against democratic tenets.

"In Ebonyi State, one of our own, an accredited Uzabe field observer, Uzodimma Lucy Ogodo, was brutally attacked for refusing to vote for a particular party. This is unacceptable and against the tenets of democracy which we strive so hard to maintain as a nation.

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 ”The democratic contract of our country dictates that we as citizens have the exclusive right to determine who our leaders are and we must protect this right, and this is why we are again calling on security agencies to act swiftly and ensure justice is served,” Lawal noted.

He commended INEC for the early opening of voting in 79 percent of polling units covered by the group, saying that the functionality of the BVAS in the election indicated the commission’s commitment to embracing new technology in the electioneering process.

Similarly, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has also commended the logistics improvement on the part of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saying that there was still room for improvement.

Also, briefing journalists on Saturday, the Executive Director of the CDD, Idayat Hassan, noted that data from its 1,500 observers across the country revealed that there were more cases of vote-buying during the governorship election than the presidential poll of February 25.

According to her, observers in all seven states in the North-West Nigeria reported high cases of vote trading by political party agents. 

"Money was used alongside other materials such as food items, wrappers and a ‘credit voucher’ were used to buy votes and those items were to be redeemed after the results were declared."

In the North-East, political party agents in Taraba State infiltrated the queues, pretending to be voters while using the chance to offer cash for votes, she said.

 In the South-East, there were reports of party agents using materials, phones and other souvenirs to entice voters in Anambra State, Hassan said, noting that multiple states in the South-South wanted voters to show proof of their ballots before being paid. Party agents also compiled a list of voters in Esan Central LGA, Edo State.

“A concern that has cut across multiple zones is the reduced presence of security officials. Observers across the states in the South-South, South-West and North-West reported a much smaller security presence, especially when compared to the presidential election.

“This has led to repeated skirmishes and fights between voters, party agents and officials. For example, observers in Enugu reported clashes between the party representatives, while others in Jigawa highlighted similar issues between self-professed party members."

Hassan said there were reports in Ukanafun Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom, where thugs attacked a polling unit and chased away voters, adding that election materials were also hijacked at gunpoint in Emelia LGA while thugs disrupted the process in Obio Akpor LGA, both in Rivers State.

There were reported cases of opposition intimidation in Lagos, with several voters prevented from getting to their polling units. Ethnic profiling was also commonplace, and many polling units were invaded and attacked, with voters chased away.