The House of Representatives by-election for Ikenne, Remo North and Sagamu Federal Constituency of Ogun State on Saturday turned violent as armed hoodlums stormed polling units in Iperu Remo, carting away ballot boxes after sporadic gunshots.
The exercise, which began peacefully in the morning, assumed a dangerous dimension around midday when masked thugs, numbering about six and riding on motorcycles, invaded the Wesley Nursery and Primary School, Iperu.
Eyewitnesses said the hoodlums fired dane guns into the air, sending voters and journalists scampering for safety.
Anxious voters who had already been accredited fled the scene as the thugs made away with ballot boxes in full glare of security operatives.
The attack occurred in the hometown of Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, where voting was already marred by voter apathy and malfunctioning of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
At Polling Units 04 and 05 in Iperu 3 Area, only 123 out of 750 registered voters had been accredited by 12:03pm when the incident happened.
Earlier, there were also reports of ballot box snatching in other parts of Remo North Local Government, while several polling units recorded low voter turnout.
Meanwhile, controversy trailed the alleged arrest of the Ogun State PDP Chairman, Abayomi Tella, alongside two Independent National Electoral Commission staff, Toryem Joe-Stans and Mandara Amina Mamman, over alleged vote buying in Iperu Remo.
The state Commissioner of Police, Lanre Ogunlowo, when contacted, denied knowledge of the arrest but said the Command was investigating the matter.
In his words, “We are investigating the matter, that’s how much I can say for now, you may please call back later in the day for further information.”
The by-election, however, continued under a tense atmosphere in other parts of the federal constituency, with observers expressing concern over security lapses and the impact of BVAS malfunction on voters’ rights.
