It was mayhem unlimited in the Okota area of Lagos on Saturday as hoodlums disrupted the Presidential and National Assembly poll in the area.
Some ballot boxes at Polling Unit 18 located at junction of Ohafia/Ago Palace Way, Okota in Oshodi/Isolo LGA were set on fire.
The thugs who committed the arson also attempted to force voters to thumbprint for a particular candidate, reports say.
The News Agency of Nigeria correspondent who witnessed the incident reports that the Polling Unit 23 located on Baba-Ewe Street/Ago Place Way was also affected by the fire.
INEC ad hoc staff at the polling units as well as voters who came out to cast their votes ran away from the polling centres for safety.
A team of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Lagos State Police Command arrived at the scene to apprehend suspects.
As at the time of this report, the INEC ad hoc staff and voters had yet to return to the units.
Also, at Polling Units, 035 and 036 located at Adeneken Street/Alhaji Olusesi Street Junction and Adeneken Street/Olusesi, Ago Palace Way, Lagos, respectively, a group of young men in tricycle and motorcycle disrupted the exercise by attempting to force voters to vote for a particular candidate.
A team of SARS intervened, shooting into the air. The team arrested some of the suspects.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zubairu Muazu, confirmed the crisis at Okota, saying that he had ordered the Area Commander to take be on top of the situation.
Meanwhile, thugs dressed in military uniform on Saturday stormed Ilile Primary School, Umuonu polling booth 13 and Nkahara polling booth 7 all in the Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State and made away with the electoral materials.
A voter in one of the affected booths said that the hoodlums on arrival shot indiscriminately into the air before carting away the ballot boxes.
The voter who pleaded anonymity said that the development made the electorate to leave the voting points.
According to him, the snatching of the ballot boxes brought the voting process to an abrupt end.
The voter said, “While voting was going on, armed men dressed in military uniform accompanied by some politicians came and carted the ballot boxes at Ilile Primary School. They did the same thing at two other polling booths.”
