By Pascal Oparada
Social Media/Tech Reporter
No fewer than 18 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members working for the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) have been abducted by gunmen Akwa Ibom State.
Sources said that they were kidnapped on Saturday 23, 2019.
Meanwhile, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mike Igini, who confirmed the story, said that 14 of them had been released.
Igini said that 10 of the Corps members were abducted in Abak council, while four were in Itua council and another four elsewhere.
Besides, Igini further disclosed that a lecturer of the University of Uyo, Kufre Etuk, was brutalised in Uruan council by his abductors.
According to him, Etuk spent the night in a bush after escaping from his abductors.
Igini also said that in Igono council, materials meant for 10 out of 11 wards were smashed and destroyed by political thugs.
His words: “In places where there are issues of ballot boxes snatching, there will be no result from those areas. No result can emanate from any polling unit with issues of stuffing of ballots and snatching.”
He also directed all electoral officers (EOs) to document attacks on electoral officials.
“In view of all negative reports of violence, fraudulent and forceful results, abductions of poll staff, ballot box snatching among others, due and diligent attention must be given to the filling of Form 40G series,” he stated.
“This means that constantly, EOs must insist on taking all field reports made and captured by the Commission Electoral Operations Support Centre (EOSC) of snatched results sheets and ballot.
“No results can emanate from polling units, wards and LGAs where there had been previous reports of serious violent attacks of poll officials many of whom are still being rescued particularly Corps members and snatching of results and ballot papers taken to unknown places,” Igini said.
In Ogun, some INEC officials conveying election results from Ipokia to Orona town hall were ambushed. They were in possession of results of national assembly elections when the attackers struck.
Some of the electoral officials had to be taken to the hospital.
Violence was recorded in different parts of the country during the presidential and legislative elections.
