The Enugu rerun election took a violent turn as voters unleashed fury upon an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official, accusing him of bringing pre-filled result sheets to a polling unit.
The incident occurred in Igogoro, Ozzi Ward 2 Unit 004, where the presiding officer, Mr. Ronald Ugwudani, narrowly escaped harm after voters discovered the already filled result sheets before the voting commenced.
Witnesses report that the pre-filled document indicated a skewed allocation of votes, with 443 votes designated to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), 31 votes to the All Progressives Congress (APC), and 15 votes to Labour Party candidates for the Igboeze North/Udenu Federal Constituency.
The rerun election was triggered by the Appeal Court’s ruling, which nullified the initial election in specific polling units due to the absence of the All Progressives Congress logo in Form EC8A.
Despite the significance of the rerun, INEC officials faced challenges, arriving late at numerous polling units. In some cases, officers were observed without result sheets or, shockingly, with pre-filled results, particularly in densely populated polling units.
At Igogoro, tensions peaked when voters confronted Mr. Ugwudani, demanding to see the result sheets. Reports indicated that other polling units were also experiencing a lack of result sheets.
Attempting to defuse the situation, Ugwudani claimed that his Senior Presiding Officer (SPO) would bring the documents.
However, skeptics among the irate voters forced him to search his bag, revealing the concealed pre-filled result sheets.
In a video capturing the chaotic scene, Ugwudani can be heard explaining, “I told them that the SPO will bring it, so, they forced me to search my bag. I don’t know that the result sheet is inside my bag. I showed them the result sheet, and they wanted to kill me.”
Dr. Chukwuemeka Chukwu, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, had assured the public of a robust security presence with over 700 staff, ad hoc workers, and 700 armed security personnel deployed for the rerun.
Despite these measures, the violent incident raises concerns about the effectiveness of security arrangements and the overall credibility of the electoral process.
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