After postponing the Presidential and National Assembly election five hours before it was billed to start on the 16th of February, Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), officially opened the polls at 8am on Saturday, February 23.
As results start pouring in, it is clear that the electorate was divided largely between the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari, and his strongest opponent, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Fresh-faced candidates like Kingsley Moghalu and Omoyemi Sowore have received a much smaller percentage of the ballot so far.
With one extra week to make last minute preparations, Nigerians trooped to their polling units hoping to perform their civic duty, however, reported cases of violence and vote-buying seemed to have dented what could have been a hitch-free election for the country.
Various Cases of Election Related Violence: The first major instance of violence was recorded in Maiduguri, Borno State where multiple bombs reportedly went off in the early hours of the morning before the polls opened.
Eyewitnesses in the area reportedly heard between 8 to 10 loud explosions in the northern state, followed by gunshots that are said to have come from the Nigerian military.
Yenagoa, the capital city of Bayelsa State in the south of the country, also recorded several attacks from rural thugs believed to have been party sponsored. The Nigerian Army subsequently made 15 arrests in this state.
Addressing pressmen, Major Jonah Danjuma announced: “Troops of 5 Battalion, 16 Brigade Nigerian Army today arrested 15 armed men suspected to be political thugs at Ikebiri 1 in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa.”
“There are indications that the armed men are highly suspected to be political thugs who planned to disrupt the presidential and national assembly elections in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area in Bayelsa.”
Another southern state, Rivers, also recorded about six casualties with the loss cutting across members of the public and security agencies.
According to a report by ThisDay newspaper, a soldier and five civilians were reportedly killed in Rivers State during the elections as confirmed by the state’s police force and also through a statement from the All Progressive Congress (APC) Party, as it lost some party members to the violence.
As a result of this, the country’s electoral commission was forced to postpone elections indefinitely in 3 Local Government Areas of the state, pending further deliberations.
Further cases of violent attacks ranging from gunshots to altercations with various thugs were reported in Lagos, Anambra and Kogi State– where a 19 year old was allegedly killed by a stray bullet during chaos.
Vote Buying and Voter Suppression: Voters in Lagos State experienced massive cases of voter suppression, with several videos on social media, showing thugs allegedly working under the mandate of the ruling party, APC, attacking voters by either preventing them from voting, or simply burning ballot boxes.
In Lagos State, places like Ago Palace Way and Okota saw cases of ballot burning as the votes were set ablaze due to the inefficiency or complete lack of security agents at the polls. Some videos on social media showed voters running from thugs and returning back home in frustration after harassment from political thugs.
This has raised concerns of tribalism as the areas attacked are mainly populated by people from the eastern and southern parts of the country.
A former Lagos State governor and the ruling party APC’s National Leader was accused of buying votes, after a bullion van was spotted pulling into his home. To the accusations, he responded with: “Is it your headache? … It’s my money, I can share it to the people free of charge as long as I’m not buying votes.” A response, which demonstrates either a high level of ignorance concerning vote-buying, or a complete lack of respect for the electoral process.
Technical Malfunctions and Late Arrival of INEC Officers: The Nigerian election was held back by reported cases of Smart Card Reader malfunctions, where voters were either delayed, accredited manually, or simply turned away due to problems coming from the Card Readers used during the elections.
In states like Lagos, Kaduna and Ogun, the Card Reader ended up complicating matters in some polling units.
The country’s electoral commission also added to these problems as its officials were either late to their stations or paid very little attention to the people they were mandated to supervise.
While Nigerians await the announcement of the results from last weekend’s poll, many expect INEC (the electoral commission) to sit back and analyse the shortcomings of this election, in order to prevent a reoccurrence at the next polls for governorship and State House positions, scheduled for March 9.
For comprehensive data about the Nigerian Election, please check our dedicated microsite for information on the polls, voters and results as they are announced bythe country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
