As the governorship and state House of Assembly elections commenced nationwide, armed thugs invaded polling unit 003 in Bestford/Ganiyu Yusuff Street, Oke-Afa, Ejigbo in Lagos State.
The thugs, who brandished the All Progressives Congress identity tags, stormed the polling unit and attempted to cart away election materials and ballot boxes and in the process damaged several thumb-printed papers.
The rampaging thugs also destroyed chairs and tables used by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission and attempted to seize the BVAS machine.
Though there was resistance from the residents and some of the thugs were overpowered, the timely arrival of the Nigerian Army to the scene helped to save the day.
The thugs were arrested and subsequently taken away by the Army in their patrol van.
Our correspondent observed that before the violence occurred, no policeman or security personnel was on the ground.
However, an hour after the incident took place, policemen from the Ejigbo Police Division drove into the street leading to the polling unit and later drove off.
Our correspondent observed that although INEC officials and ballot materials arrived early, voting and accreditation commenced late and were stalled by the disruption.
Voters’ turnout was high and they were eager to exercise their civic responsibility.
However, the possibility that many of them might not vote was high because as of 11.53 am, the INEC officials told the residents that voting at the polling unit would end by 2.30 pm.
Although the state government gave the assurance that there would be peace throughout the voting exercise today, a place like Oke-Afa notably experienced pockets of election-related violence.
