Viral video clips of Jennifer Efidi with a swollen face and blood streaming down her right cheek as she was being accredited to vote in the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections on Dipolubi Street, in the Surulere area of Lagos, sent shivers down the spine of many Nigerians.
Photos of the civil servant from Bayelsa State which also surfaced online were reminiscent of a war survivor. Behind the straps of bandage above and below her right eye was palpable pain.
Like other Nigerian youths whose hope of a country they can be proud of was dashed by the crop of politicians whose leadership style leaves much to be desired, Efidi avoided previous general elections like a plague.
The actions and inactions of corrupt political leaders pointed to a gloomy future, so she saw no use in participating in elections whose results were manipulated to reflect the interest of a few rather than the choices of millions of voters.
But the sudden surge of political awareness among the youth in the buildup to the 2023 general elections emboldened her to resolve to arm herself with her permanent voter card and take back her country, and the February 25 presidential election provided the opportunity.
“I was so happy that D-day was finally here and I had been expecting, like every other person, to cast my vote. When I got to the polling unit, voting had already commenced and the first thing to do was to do the verification, which I did. I joined the queue but it wasn’t moving because some people were jumping the queue and elderly persons, pregnant women and all that were being attended to first.
“After some time, let me say about one hour, I saw a group of boys. At first, I didn’t notice them because I was on my phone, but it was someone who sat close to me that called my attention to the strange faces. They were on the other side of the road and didn’t come close to us; they didn’t say anything to us but were discussing among themselves and they started walking down to the other end of the road, voting continued and the queue was moving,” the graduate of Niger-Delta University said.
Although 18 candidates contested the presidential election held across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, the exercise was regarded by many as a four-horse race among the candidates of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu; Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar; Labour Party, Peter Obi; and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Characteristic of elections in Nigeria, there were reported cases of violence in some states. The INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, said polling units in Niger, Delta, and Katsina states were attacked by thugs and eight bimodal voter accreditation systems were snatched by thugs, though three of the BVAS machines were later recovered.
In Rivers State, a pregnant woman identified as Ruth Osah, and a member of a local security outfit, Mark Orduize, were allegedly killed at a polling unit in Ubimini community, in the Emuoha Local Government Area of the state.
In Edo, two voters, including a 43-year-old mother of three, Elizabeth Owie, were killed during the elections. Also, hoodlums suspected to be supporters of a political party in Akwa Ibom State reportedly inflicted machete cuts on two voters before carting away a BVAS machine for units 11 and 12 at the Oniong West Ward I in the Onna Local Government Area of the state.
Efidi said what seemed like a peaceful exercise became a scene from a horror movie in a few seconds when some unidentified persons pretending to be voters unleashed mayhem at the polling unit.
“After an hour, I really didn’t notice anything. But suddenly, I just felt a huge impact on my face and simultaneously, I heard a gunshot. At that moment, I felt I had been shot. I felt it was a bullet because I held my face and noticed blood dripping; blood was just gushing out and I was shouting and asking for help.
“My second eye was open and I could see that people were running away; everybody that sighted me screamed and ran away and I ran into the building where our polling unit was until a woman held me and used the handkerchief she had to put pressure on my face but that couldn’t stop the bleeding. Yes, it was that much,” she added with unmistakable tremor in her voice.
However, being a first-time voter, she told Sunday PUNCH that her determination to conclude what she started when she stepped out of her apartment motivated her to return to the polling unit and exercise her right to vote.
“Afterward, I was taken to the hospital where the cuts were stitched. On our way back, we had to pass the polling unit to my house and we noticed that voters had reconvened and voting had resumed about two hours after the incident.
“At that point, when I saw that, I felt that this was what I wanted to do to make my votes count, and despite all my struggles, getting registered, collecting the PVC, coming out there to vote, and having been afflicted this much, I had to cast my vote.
“My husband supported me and said I should go down and cast my vote. That was the only thing that could make me fulfilled and after I did, I felt that fulfillment,” she added.
After three days of intense political battle among the four major presidential candidates, the Independent National Electoral Commission on Wednesday, March 1, declared Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, as the winner of the election, a verdict that has since been rejected by Atiku and Obi, who cited irregularities.
While those declared as winners and losers in the Presidential and National Assembly Elections are preparing for the legal battles ahead, Efidi said she was lucky to be alive to tell her story despite the deep cuts on her eyelid and eyebrow. However, the attack left her and her children traumatised.
“My eyes have been examined and I was given eye drops to use but there was no damage to my eyes. But for now, it’s very swollen and in fact, still covered. For the cuts, maybe there’ll be scars later after the stitches have healed. I just pray that by God’s grace, it won’t be much.
“I’ve not been able to sleep well since that day (February 25). Apart from the pain, the trauma, and anxiety are still there. If I just hear anything, I get agitated. My blood pressure has also shot up as a result of that. My husband was agitated and traumatised, and my children were too. They are kids and they were not only crying but were wailing; I have to give them a different orientation about the election and all about going out to vote.
“I would say that it is an eye-opener. It gave me another perception of how really Nigerians are. Nigerians are wonderful. So many people reached out. We are our brother’s keepers; some will just call to pray for me, showing concern, intending to know if I’m okay, people we are not related to. Nigerians are the best in the world; I can beat my chest to say that.”
Efidi insisted that she did not regret leaving the comfort of her home to exercise her franchise.
“For God to have spared my life, I know it’s for a reason and I don’t regret it. Because if it had happened the way the enemy wanted, I wouldn’t be here and that would have been the regret. Also, if I could not later cast my vote, it would have been a regret because the purpose for which I went out would not have been actualised,” she added.
The police told Sunday PUNCH on Friday that some suspects arrested during the elections in Lagos were being probed to determine their culpability in the violence witnessed in some parts of the state.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said, “We already have suspects in custody. We are investigating the people in custody to know whether they are culpable or not.”
Sharing his perspective, a human rights lawyer, Malachy Ugwummadu, said Efidi represented the current resolve and fresh consciousness of Nigerians to reclaim their country.
He said, “I salute her resolve. I congratulate her for being part of Nigerian history. Jennifer (Efidi) captured the resolve of the Nigerian people.
“I was also at the stakeholders’ meeting with the (Lagos State) Commissioner of Police a few days ago and we did push a position that besides Section 145 of the Electoral Act 2020, which is a replica of the Electoral Act 2010, the Commissioner of Police has all the powers to arrest any person who has perpetrated violence, including grievous bodily harm as inflicted on this woman. He has the responsibility to go beyond arrests. We must find a way of exiting the politics of violence and focus on issues.”
Similarly, a human rights activist, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, while condemning electoral violence, said the prosecution of electoral offenders would help to sanitise the country’s electoral systems
“Such a heinous act is condemned in strongest terms as an election is supposed to be a festival of democracy and not war.
“The police have promised through the Commissioner of Police, CP Idowu Owohunwa, at a critical stakeholders’ meeting held during the week to ensure prosecution of every electoral violator. This will surely serve as a deterrent to others.”
