A civil‑society organisation, Connected Development, reported 30 incidents of ballot‑box hijacking and 50 cases of vote‑buying during the recently concluded governorship polls across the country. The chief executive officer, Hamzat Lawal, disclosed these statistics at a post‑election briefing in Abuja on Tuesday. Data collected by the organisation’s 20,000 election observers, deployed through its “Uzabe” platform, indicated a 27 percent voter turnout on election day, a figure attributed to intimidation, violence and voter suppression.
Lawal described the numbers as a disturbing trend for democratic governance and urged stakeholders to ensure the prosecution of those responsible for electoral malpractice and other infractions. He noted that the 30 cases of ballot‑box hijacking represented an increase from the previous election, citing specific incidents in Ahoada West LGA (Rivers State) and Oshodi/Isolo LGA (Lagos State), as well as cases in Bayelsa, Delta and other states. The 50 recorded instances of vote‑buying also rose, with examples from polling unit 003 in Gidan Bunu ward (Zuru LGA, Kebbi State) and polling unit 021 in Gidan Alhazi ward (Wudil LGA, Kano State).
The 2023 general elections saw only 27 percent turnout—24.9 million of the 90 million registered voters—deciding the fate of a nation of over 200 million people. Despite widespread public calls for security agencies to address intimidation, violence and voter suppression, Lawal said the agencies remained silent. He highlighted massive incidents of these problems in states such as Kano, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kaduna and Sokoto in the Northwest; Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta in the South‑South; Lagos and Ogun in the Southwest; Imo, Enugu and Abia in the Southeast; and Kogi and Benue in both elections.
In his address, the CODE chief condemned all forms of thuggery and violence reported nationwide, insisting that perpetrators must face the full force of the law. “We frown upon all forms of electoral fraud, violence and thuggery perpetrated by any political party throughout this election cycle. We are appalled, and we must ensure these actors face the full wrath of the law. We cannot sit back and watch our democracy overridden by these acts. We must do better,” he said. Lawal also denounced the ethnic profiling that occurred in many parts of the country before and during the elections, warning Nigerians against such a harmful development.
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