Violence breaks out at Ekiti APC primary, ballot boxes missing

The governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti state has been marred by violence.

The exercise, which started hours behind schedule as a result of downpour, had been going on smoothly until some agents protested that there were plots to manipulate the exercise.

An argument broke out while delegates from Moba and Ijero local government areas (LGAs) were voting and in the process, some persons reached for nearby ballot boxes.

Security personnel struggled with one of the persons carrying a ballot box and the box fell while its content spilled on the ground. Some aggrieved persons also smashed boxes on the ground while policemen and operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) managed to secure some.

Tanko Al-Makura, chairman of the committee organising the election, is currently in a meeting with some stakeholders. None of the aspirants was on seat as of the time this report was filed.

An aspirant was accused of conspiring with operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) to ensure that the outcome favours him.

An election observer spoke on the cause of the violence. He said people decided to disrupt the process because they had lost hope in it.

“We saw police officers voting; we also have evidence of someone pointing and telling people where to vote, and we also saw a former governor who was siting down there and directing his agents to talk to DSS operatives who were directing people where to vote,” he said.

“This is clearly a compromised election and when an election is compromised, people fight back. What we’re only seeing here is a symptom of people feeling that they’ve been disfranchised and we should not allow it.”

A total of 2,408 delegates were accredited for the exercise across the 16 LGAs in the state. Only four LGAs had voted when chaos broke.