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The deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Dennis Idahosa, has unleashed chaos at his own polling unit in the ongoing Edo governorship election.
Eyewitnesses reported that Idahosa, seeing that he was on the verge of losing, allegedly called in thugs to disrupt the voting process, resulting in widespread panic and violence in the area.
The incident took place at Polling Unit 14 in Ovia North-East, where voting had been proceeding smoothly until tensions escalated shortly after noon.
As it became increasingly the APC was losing in the polling unit, Idahosa arrived at the unit with a group of armed thugs.
According to on-the-ground witnesses, the thugs began harassing voters and destroying election materials, bringing the voting process to a sudden halt.
One of the voters at the scene, Mrs Pat Agbonlahor, who had been standing in line to cast her vote, said: “We were all standing peacefully in line when suddenly we saw a group of young men arrive with weapons.
“At first, we thought they were security operatives, but then they started shouting and threatening us. We had no choice but to run for our lives. It was horrifying!”
Another eyewitness, Mr. Shedrach Ojo, confirmed that the situation appeared to be orchestrated by Idahosa’s camp.
“It was clear that the APC was losing here. Everyone could see it on their faces. That’s when the deputy governorship candidate showed up with his people. They started scattering the polling station, grabbing ballot boxes, and chasing voters away,”v he said.
A local youth leader, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed anger over the disruption.
“This is a disgrace! We were peacefully participating in the election, but because Idahosa knew he was losing, he decided to use violence. It shows that they’re desperate. They can’t win fairly, so they resort to these dirty tactics,” he lamented.
Security forces have reportedly been deployed to the area to restore order, but there are growing concerns that the incident could discourage other voters from participating in the election.
An Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official who was present at the polling unit lamented, saying: “We are supposed to be building a democratic society. What happened here today is a travesty. The people of Ovia North-East deserve better than thugs coming in to hijack the process.”
As of now, it remains unclear whether INEC will take action to address the disruption at the polling unit.
Meanwhile, calls for an immediate investigation have already begun circulating on social media.