By: Okosun Dennis
There were commotion at some polling units 006 and 007 located beside the Oba of Elegushi Palace, at Ikate on Saturday during the Presidential and National Assembly elections as thugs numbering over 50 attacked the two polling units and destroyed INEC materials.
It was learnt that materials had arrived at the 13 polling units located both inside the palace at Lekki/Ikate and environs about 11am despite INEC office being close to the booths.
Trouble erupted at the various Elegushi palace polling booths leading to the destruction of electoral materials met for voting soon after voting had started and some disgruntled elements swooped on the INEC ad-hoc officers and turned the peaceful booth into shreds, thereby making the voters to scampering for cover in the melee.
However, the intervention of the troops of the 65 battalion led by the Commanding Officer, Lt Col Mohammed Lawal calmed the situation as their arrival was heralded by loud ovation: “Up Nigerian Army! Up Nigerian Army!! We want to vote. Thugs cannot stop our civic responsibilities.”
The soldiers who were calm and professional in their conduct looked fierce as they rolled their heavy armoured tank through the narrow road leading to the Oba of Elegushi ‘s palace.
At the same time, helicopter and Airforce plane were hovering around aerially monitoring trends as men of the Lagos State Rapid Response Squad flooded the place armed to the teeth with their canister and rifles.
When the commotion settled, the ballot boxes were destroyed, ballot papers torned to shreds both used and unused while the chairs and table that served for thump printing were also destroyed. Also not spared were the cubicles erected where the voters thump printed their ballot papers.
Speaking with our correspondent in his palace, Oba Elegushi, Kusenla III, who is the 21st Elegushi of the Ikate-Elegushi Kingdom, denied knowledge of the commotion that broke out around the palace.
Rather, he frowned at INEC decision to transfer voters to the polling units within his kingdom considering that so many of them don’t live within the area while some are oblivious of the address where they are supposed to vote.
Expressing his angst against it with the intention of taking the matter up against the INEC after the election, he further stated that what they did was fraud against the people.
The Oba of Elegushi further reacted: “Where was that? I didn’t see that. Besides my palace? You cannot call that my palace!
“I was not told and I just received the Commander of the Army and said that there was an issue and they have settled it. I wasn’t aware of it neither do I know if there were any arrest. I wasn’t told, ” he reiterated.
On the turn out of voters, he added that, “The turn was good. A lot of people turned out but I am worried about somebody going to INEC’s website and did a transfer and given a fake address without asking questions?
“You see a lot of strange faces that don’t leave in this area or vicinity. How can we accept that fraud. For someone to transfer to a place he or she is not living? It’s a fraud.
“We would take that up after the election because it’s not right to see a lot of strange faces that don’t live here in this local government and they are voting here. How come? When you do a transfer, you must be able to verify the address again,” the Oba of Elegushi concluded.
However, investigation revealed that the thugs got enraged having noticed that majority of those casting their votes were doing so against the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) hence they attacked the booths and destroyed the ballots.
Some of the thugs were shouting: “Go to your state and cast your vote. You cannot vote for Labour Party or any other party here and dictate who you vote for. You either go to your state and vote or cast your vote according to our specifications,” our correspondent gathered.
Results declared by the Presiding Officers in some of the Units within the Elegushi environs indicated that at 007 where voting later started after the initial disruption saw the Labour Party clinching the poll in the Presidential Election with LP 47, PDP 1 and APC 31. Also at unit 008, a unit located inside the palace had APC 72, LP 27 while voided votes were 3.
However, at 005 unit located in front of the Elegushi palace gate, LP won the Presidential Election with 44 votes, APC 37 and PDP 8. In Unit 049 also opposite the Elegushi palace, then LP 87, APC 48 and PDP 2.
At 046 unit at Gbangbala street off Oba Elegushi palace, Labour Party clinched the presidential polls with:
House of Representatives ADC: 7;
APC: 13; LP: 87 and PDP: 104
For the House of Senate: SDP: 7; APC: 19; YPP: 35; ADC: 47; PDP: 88 and ZLP: 4 while 8 votes were voided.
In the Presidential polls,
PDP: 4, APC: 13 while the Labour party scored 194.
Despite the initial squabbles that greeted the electioneering, there were massive turnout of voters during the presidential and national Assembly elections in some of the polling units visited by our correspondent.
At Ogombo in Etiosa local government, some voters discovered to their consternation that they were transferred to units far from where they reside hence some were disenfranchised as they couldn’t locate the unit or had the means of transporting themselves since the restrictions on movement was in force.
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