Thuggery, vote-buying, apathy greet bye-elections

•Police arrest 288 thugs in Kano

•Protests stall balloting in Enugu

•INEC officials, others arrested in Ogun

•ADC alleges vote-buying in Oyo

By Wole Mosadomi, Omeiza Ajayi, Dennis Agbo, Mohammed Abubakar, Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo, Ozioruva Aliu, Umar Yusuf, Bashir Bello, Boluwaji Obahop Ajibola, Adeola Badru, Chinedu Adonu, James Ogunnaike & Laolu Elijah

Thuggery, low voter turnout and allegations of vote-buying yesterday marred the bye-elections across two senatorial districts, five federal constituencies and nine state constituencies in 12 states.

On a day security agencies had a field day arresting political thugs and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the polls were, however, generally peaceful and witnessed impressive voter turnout in Niger, Jigawa and Oyo. This was as protest, for the third time, that stalled a supplementary election in Enugu.

Irked by alleged malpractices, voter intimidation and violence, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, kicked against the conduct of the elections in Kano.

KANO: Police arrest 288 suspected thugs

The Kano State Police Command said it arrested no fewer than 288 suspected thugs who attempted to disrupt the elections in the state.

The spokesperson, SP Abdullahi Haruna, who confirmed the arrest in a post on his verified Facebook page, said the suspects were caught with dangerous weapons.

According to him: “288 suspected thugs were arrested with dangerous weapons including a pump-action rifle, locally made guns, knives, cutlasses, etc., during the re-run/bye-elections period.”

Kano Resident Electoral Commissioner, Amb. Abdu Zango, confirmed the arrests but added that the process went on smoothly, thanking security agencies for massive deployment and patrol.

APC asks INEC to cancel Kano poll

However, the APC has asked the electoral commission to immediately cancel the bye-elections for Shanono/Bagwai constituency and the Ghari constituency rerun election in Kano State.

APC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the call became necessary “due to widespread extreme violence and election disruption by armed thugs across several polling units in Shanono, Bagwai and Ghari constituencies.”

It said verifiable reports showed voters fleeing polling areas, with security personnel overwhelmed by violence, making credible elections impossible.

“Proceeding with the Shanono/Bagwai Kano State Constituency bye-election and Ghari rerun election in an atmosphere of utter brigandage and outright violent voter intimidation will be against democratic dictates of free, fair and peaceful elections, and will set a dangerous precedent for unacceptable electoral heist,” the party declared.

Kano PDP concurs

Similarly, Kano State PDP Chairman, Yusuf Ado Kibiya, rejected the election in Shanono/Bagwai constituency, saying it was marred by intimidation and thuggery, and therefore unacceptable.

OYO: ADC candidate decries vote-buying

African Democratic Congress, ADC, candidate for the Ibadan North Federal Constituency bye-election, Femi Dexter Akin-Alamu, alleged large-scale vote buying during Saturday’s poll.

Speaking after casting his ballot at Ward 11, Polling Unit 38, University of Ibadan, he claimed voters were offered cash and inducements to sway their choices.

Akin-Alamu warned that such practices erode electoral credibility and weaken democracy. He also lamented low turnout, noting that poor participation undermines representative governance.

ENUGU: Protests stall exercise

The third attempt by INEC to conduct the Enugu South Urban State Assembly rerun election failed, yesterday, as no voting took place at Uwani Secondary School, Enugu.

The seat has been vacant since the State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal nullified the March 18, 2023, election and ordered a rerun in eight polling units with 4,618 registered voters.

The first attempt on February 3, 2024, was botched amid disputes over missing result sheets. The second attempt, two weeks later, collapsed after violence erupted. The third attempt on June 8, 2024, also ended in disputes.

The election is essentially between Labour Party candidate, Bright Ngene — who was sworn into the Assembly in 2023 but is now in prison over a separate community matter — and PDP candidate Sam Ngene, a former lawmaker.

In the March 2023 poll, Bright Ngene was declared winner with 5,862 votes, ahead of Sam Ngene by over 2,000 votes, but the result was later overturned in court.

Though voters turned out in large numbers yesterday and INEC presented electoral materials, tensions between rival parties made voting impossible amid allegations and counter-allegations.

Present at the venue were Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji; Senator Kelvin Chukwu of Enugu East; and other lawmakers from the district, most of whom defected from LP to APC. The Enugu Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Chukwuemeka Chukwu, pleaded for peace but his appeal fell on deaf ears. At about 3 p.m., INEC packed its materials and left under heavy security. No results were announced.

Violence, low turnout in Ogun

The House of Representatives bye-election in Ikenne/Remo North/Sagamu Federal Constituency of Ogun State was marred by violence, ballot box snatching, technical hitches, and low turnout.

Gunshots and failure of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, to recognise elderly voters were reported in several polling units.

At Wesley Nursery & Primary School, Iperu — the polling unit of PDP governorship candidate, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu — hooded thugs stormed the venue with dane guns, shooting sporadically and carting away ballot boxes.

Before the disruption, INEC officials said 123 of 750 registered voters had been accredited. In Remo North, turnout was low, with only 64 of 445 voters accredited by 11 a.m.

A 70-year-old voter, Sobanke Fasasi, lamented being unable to vote despite repeated attempts with BVAS. A corps member confirmed the device’s difficulty in recognising aged voters.

Other wards like Ajegunle (Ogere) and Ilisan also recorded low turnout, with only 98 of 953 registered voters accredited by 11 a.m.

OGUN: Police arrest INEC officials

Ogun Police Command said it arrested two INEC officials and others for alleged electoral offences in Iperu, Ikenne LGA.

Spokesperson Omolola Odutola said the suspects were intercepted during a midnight stop-and-search. A search of their vehicle led to the recovery of ¦ 2.5 million.

One of the suspects confessed that the money was collected at Kehoy Hotel, Iperu, from a man he referred to as “Political Solution,” acting on his supervisor’s directive.

OYO: Moderate voter turnout

Low turnout initially characterised the Ibadan North bye-election but picked up by noon. Allegations of vote buying were reported, with some suspects arrested by security agents.

At Apete, out of 1,000 registered voters, only 300 were accredited by midday.

Okpebholo decries slow BVAS in Edo

Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, voted at about 9:52 a.m. at Udomi Primary School, Esan Central LGA, but lamented delays caused by BVAS.

He urged INEC to address the problem, though he commended the peaceful conduct of the poll.

The Edo Central Senatorial bye-election is to fill the vacancy created by Okpebholo’s emergence as governor.

Massive turnout in Jigawa

In Jigawa, voting for the Garki/Babura Federal Constituency bye-election witnessed huge turnout. Defence Minister Muhammad Badaru Abubakar and Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, both voted in Babura.

Prof. Suwaiba praised the organisation of the polls and expressed optimism that APC would win.

Low turnout in Kaduna

The bye-election for Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency in Kaduna witnessed poor turnout. At some polling units, officials arrived early but no voters showed up for hours.

Observers attributed the apathy to disenchantment with past elections.

NIGER: Peaceful exercise

The bye-election into the Munya Constituency seat in Niger State House of Assembly was peaceful, with impressive turnout despite insecurity challenges.

INEC relocated polling units from five troubled wards to safer locations. Electoral materials arrived early, and voting commenced at 8 a.m.

Deputy Governor Yakubu Garba described the election as peaceful, commending INEC and security agencies.

The seat became vacant after the death of former lawmaker, Haruna S. Duza, almost a year ago.

Thugs beat party agent to coma in Kogi

The bye-election for Dekina-Okura State Constituency in Kogi State was marred by voter apathy, violence, and low turnout.

Political thugs had a field day, preventing election materials from reaching some polling units.

In Anyigba, where voting was expected to take place in 72 polling units, election materials and electoral officers failed to arrive at several locations.

The situation turned violent when thugs loyal to one of the participating parties attacked the agent of the Allied People’s Movement (APM) in Anyigba.

The agent, who had reportedly insisted that voting materials must be moved from the Registration Area Centre (RAC) in Anyigba to all polling units, was beaten into a coma by the thugs.

The APM later accused security agents of failing to check the activities of political thugs who intimidated their agents.

The party also alleged that one of the major parties stuffed ballot boxes at the RAC after thugs blocked the deployment of materials.

Meanwhile, the election was reported to have been peaceful and orderly in three other wards of the constituency.

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