By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
The Social Democrats party (SDP) Candidate for House of Representatives for Ankpa, Olamaboro and Omala federal constituency in Kogi State Hon. Ben Adaji has called on the Inspector General of police to urgently arrest and prosecute the Council Chairman of Olamaboro local government area Mr. Friday Adejoh for committing electoral offenses.
Hon. Adaji who made the call while speaking to journalists in Lokoja on Tuesday said Mr. Adejoh along with some policemen drove round polling units in a Sienna Bus in Imane ward one and two shot several guns to despach voters from polling units.
He added that the council Chairman aided by the policemen snatched away several ballot boxes and later returned them to the collation centre in Imane after falsifying the results in favour of APC.
The House of Reps candidate wondered why a council Chairman would turn himself into a warlord and taking the law into his hands.
“I saw the council Chairman, Friday Adejoh along with some policemen and thugs heavily armed with guns and shouting round the polling units in Imane ward one and two. They carted away several ballot boxes to unknown destinations and later returned them to the collation centre after changing the results in favour of APC.
” In fact this is not the first time Friday Adejoh is doing this, in the 2019 governorship election that brought Yahaya Bello he and his gang of thugs in the same manner at gunpoint drove round Olamaboro local government and snatched ballot boxes.
“I urge the Inspector general of police to as a matter of urgency arrest and prosecute the council Chairman of Olamaboro, Friday Adejoh for committing electoral fraud to serve as deterrent”, Adaji said.
He described the February 25 Presidential and National assembly elections in Ankpa, Olamaboro and Omala as a charade and characterized with rigging, vote buying, falsification of results and snatching of ballot boxes.
He expressed disappointment with the entire exercise which he described as a day light robbery.
Adaji wondered why a serving APC council chairman and his thugs would go about with guns snatching ballot boxes and molesting INEC officials.
The Reps candidate gave an instance where the Chairman and his thugs snatched ballot boxes from Abo-Ojoche and Ebuloko polling units in Imane ward 1 in Olamaboro local government and falsified the results in favour of APC.
According to the candidate, similar electoral fraud was carried out in Omala local government area where APC thugs destroyed ballot boxes in polling units 3, 4 and 8 in Abejukolo ward 2.
He said election was desrupted in Isheke ward while several ballot boxes were snatched by APC thugs in Omala local government area.
Adaji lamented that the election in Ankpa local government was also characterized with falsification of results and snatching of ballot boxes.
According Adaji, results were not transmitted to the INEC server from the polling units as directed by the electoral body.
“All results in the federal constituency were taken to different hideouts with INEC officials at gunpoint and falsified by APC agents.”
He disclosed that he has already submitted a protest letter to the INEC in Lokoja calling for the cancellation of the entire elections in Ankpa, Olamaboro and Omala federal constituency.
“I reject the entire results collated by INEC in the federal constituency and I want a fresh election to be conducted, ” he said.
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