In a shocking turn of events, the governor of Kogi State, Mr Yahaya Bello, is accused of deploying over 500 thugs to disrupt the proceedings at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Lokoja.
The thugs, reportedly adorned in SDP T-shirts and posters, are said to have been tasked with preventing the examination of documents and materials related to the November 11 Governorship Elections in Kogi State.
According to Faruk Adejoh-Audu, the spokesman for the Muri-Sam Governorship Campaign Council of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the orchestrated attack aims to compromise materials crucial for their petition at the tribunal.
The thugs have allegedly besieged the entire Marine Street, where the INEC office is located, and adjacent streets, posing a serious threat to the security of INEC and the sensitive materials within.
The situation escalated as the thugs, chanting war slogans, claim to be SDP members opposing the movement of Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) Machines to Abuja for security reasons and the forensic examination of electoral documents.
Adejoh-Audu asserts that Bello’s resort to such extreme measures follows earlier concerns raised by their campaign about a plan to burn down the Lokoja INEC office.
Curiously, the INEC office shares proximity with the State Police Headquarters, where Bello’s alleged accomplice, Commissioner Bethrand Onuoha, presides. Despite this, security agencies, including the Directorate of State Security (DSS), reportedly took no action to secure the INEC office, raising questions about their role in the unfolding crisis.
SDP is calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene urgently and quell what they describe as a “rented insurrection.”
They emphasize the importance of safeguarding democracy against the brazen attempts to compromise the electoral process and undermine the constitutional foundations of the nation.
The SDP spokesman, Adejoh-Audu, expresses concern that sensitive materials may have already been compromised by INEC staff alleged to be agents of Governor Bello.
The party insists that allowing such criminal tactics to prevail would set a dangerous precedent, calling for decisive action to uphold the integrity of the electoral system.
