Operatives of the Department of State Services and Policemen manning
the gates of the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral
Commission on Wednesday assaulted the governorship candidate of the All
Progressives Congress in Rivers State, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, and other
candidates of the party in the last general elections.
The security agents fired tear-gas canisters at Peterside and 47 other
APC candidates in the state elections, who had gone to the head office
of INEC to protest an alleged refusal of the Resident Electoral
Commissioner in Rivers State, Mrs. Gesila Khan, to release electoral
materials for inspection by the APC, in accordance with the ruling of
the Rivers State Election Petitions Tribunal.
A security operative also threatened to shoot a television reporter, who was recording the protest.
The APC candidate is contesting before the tribunal the victory of
Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party in the April 11
election in Rivers.
The tribunal had ordered that the petitioners be allowed access to the
election materials to enable them to show proof that the polls in the
state were rigged.
The candidates, who arrived at the INEC HQ at about 11:15am, lamented
that they had individually submitted petitions against Khan’s refusal to
make the needed documents available.
Peterside, who led the other candidates during the peaceful protest,
wondered why the REC had refused to comply with the order of the
tribunal, complaining that the REC had claimed that she was working
under instruction from the INEC headquarters.
A petition by the candidates, which was eventually submitted at INEC,
read, “It is highly worrisome that the Independent National Electoral
Commission, which ought to assume the position of an unbiased umpire,
has now thrown caution to the wind and is now hobnobbing with the other
respondents in the aforementioned petitions to frustrate the speedy and
efficient determination of the petitions.
“The foregoing collaboration and partnership between the commission and
other respondents to the petition is confirmed by the commission’s
refusal to allow our expert inspect electoral materials, refusal to
produce properly Certified True Copies and the series of objections
filed by counsel for the commission, challenging the tribunal’s order
for inspection of electoral materials.”
Rivers APC candidates who participated in the protest at the INEC
headquarters included Senator Magnus Abe, Andrew Uchendu, Otelemaba
Amachree, Chidi Lloyd and Victor Amadi, among others.
Rivers APC Chairman, Denis Ikanya, also accompanied the protesters to the commission’s headquarters.
Trouble had started at the INEC office when the security operatives
refused to allow all the protesting candidates to personally present
their grievances to the acting Chairman of INEC, Mrs. Amina Zakari.
Zakari was said to have instructed that she would only see three of the protesters.
The candidates, on arrival at the INEC headquarters, had been accosted
by the security operatives at a checkpoint near the commission’s main
entrance.
Zakari and Khan were inside the INEC premises during the time of the protest.
The Deputy Director of INEC in charge of security, Mr. Victor Egbun, who
had been delegated to meet with the protesting candidates at the outer
checkpoint, had told them to nominate three persons to represent them at
the meeting with the INEC chairperson.
Egbun told the protesters that it was the standard procedure at the commission.
“I plead with you to cooperate with us. Select three people to follow us to our office,” he had said.
But the candidates refused, arguing that they had different cases and complaints to make.
Abe warned that the candidates were running out of time at the tribunal,
adding that “this chairman should not be shy to see visitors. We are
not up to 50 candidates here; she can see us.”
The candidates were further miffed when the deputy director told them
that his boss was with the Rivers State REC and could not see them.
Sensing that they could be denied audience, the protesting candidates,
at 11:45, walked towards the commission’s main gate but they were
accosted by security operatives, who asked the protesters to turn back.
However, the protesters refused to heed the security order and started
chanting, “Shoot us!” “President Buhari must hear this.” “We will refuse
to leave.”
By 11:49am, however, the security operatives started firing tear-gas
canisters even as the protesting candidates, journalists and other
visitors scampered away to safety.
The Director of Security at INEC, Shettima Ngiladi, who had rushed out
to see what was happening at the gate, was speaking with the APC state
chairman and some candidates when the incident occurred.
